


Bucky Barnes; Babysitter? (A.K.A The Adventures of Teeny Tony)

by MoMoMomma



Category: Captain America, Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Allergies, Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Angst, Arguing, Assassination Attempt(s), Awesome Peggy Carter, Burns, Divorce, F/M, False Accusations, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Homophobic Language, Howard Stark is Not A Dick, Howard Stark: Rich Bastard, Humor, Jealousy, Kid Fic, Kid Tony Stark, M/M, Masturbation, Nanny Barnes, Obadiah Stane is an Asshole, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Homophobia, References to Suicide, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Friendship, Safer Sex, Skype, Slight Dirty Talk, Smut, ex-lovers, self-image issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-08-22
Packaged: 2017-12-12 16:53:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/813829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoMoMomma/pseuds/MoMoMomma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raising a kid is hard. Doing it post a divorce and trying to run a company at the same time is damn near impossible. So when Peggy suggests a friend of hers, a soldier recently wounded and discharged, become Tony's nanny, Howard is relieved but wary. It can't be that bad right? Nanny's are employee's, just like every other person, they wouldn't dare mouth off or go against his judgment, so it shouldn't be an issue. Right?</p><p>......Right??</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tiny Tony and The Terror of Teething

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I'm dealing with two teething babies and all they are calmed by is episodes of The Nanny. I hope you guys enjoy it, this will be a slower build to the romance than all my others, though I'm hoping it will be a more light hearted one than all the others. 
> 
> (Do you have any idea how hard it is to write porn with a child two inches from you screaming? Harder than Howard Stark seeing Steve in lingerie. That's how hard.) Regardless, I am working on the next to chapters of my other WiP's and should have them (hopefully both) up within the next few days :D

“Howard, I’ll be leaving for the summer gala in a moment. Don’t forget that Tony will need another dose of pain medicine in an hour for his gums.”

Howard finished signing his name before placing the paper to the side and shooting Maria, who was standing in the doorway of the office putting on her earrings, an incredulous look.

“Maria, you can’t be serious. I have about ten different military proposals to go through, I can’t watch Tony tonight.”

“Well, you’ll have to find a way, won’t you?” She snapped, placing her hands on her hips. “I can’t take him with me to the gala.”

“Can’t we just hire a nanny?” Howard asked, rubbing a hand against his temple to fend off the migraine that was forming.

“No! For the _thousandth_ time, Howard, no! I was raised by a nanny, and I know how damaging it can be to a child’s psyche! He needs to be raised by his parents.”

“Then maybe you should do a little raising.” Howard muttered under his breath, Maria shooting him a glare that told him she’d heard him anyways.

“One hour, Tony will need medicine.” She snapped, stalking over to slam the video monitor onto his desk. “Goodbye, Howard.”

He gave her a sarcastic salute, moving the monitor closer to him and rolling his eyes as she slammed the office door on her way out, heels echoing as she stomped down the hall. He had the brief thought that Tony should have woken up by the loud noises before shrugging it off and going back to his paperwork. Perhaps he’d be able to work through at least one proposal before the boy got up.

Fifteen minutes later found Howard cursing his naiveté and rocking a screaming Tony back and forth. The boy was rubbing his head against Howard’s shoulder, clenching fistfuls of his shirt in his hands. It was obvious by the way Tony would take a hand and stick it in his mouth for a moment before yanking it away that his gums were indeed hurting once more, to the point where he was biting so hard it was hurting his fingers.

“Hey, hey, hey, shhhh.” Howard murmured over the screams, wincing when Tony stuck his toes in his stomach and shoved, trying to physically escape the pain.

The boy kept up his screaming, Howard searching his mind desperately for an idea to at least alleviate it until he could give him the next dose of medication. When absolutely none came to mind he searched for the phone, punching in a number and praying for an answer as he bounced the now sobbing baby. When it was finally answered, a gentle voice with a light British accent and a touch of irritation spoke.

“Howard, stop putting off the pro—What’s wrong with Tony?!”

“He’s teething!” Howard snapped, Peggy making a soft noise of empathy on the other end of the line.

“Darling poppet. I know that’s awful for them.”

“It’s awful for me!” Howard said, hiking Tony up a bit higher on his hip and wincing when the position allowed the boy to grab a lock of hair at the base of his beck. “Peggy, I’m losing my mind. Believe me, right now I’d _kill_ to be working on those proposals, but Maria had a gala to go to—“

“Another one?!” Peggy interrupted, the irritation now completely audible, as well as a bit of disgust as she snorted in a fashion Howard had always though at odds with her ladylike appearance. “Howard that is the _third_ thing she has gone to this week and it’s only Thursday! If she never intended to spend any time with the boy, why in the hell have the child?!”

“Peggy, please,” Howard pleaded with his old friend. “I don’t know, don’t snap at me. I’m under a little bit of stress already here.”

There was slow breathing on the other end of the line before Peggy spoke up.

“Well, can he have medicine?”

“In another,” Howard checked the clock. “Forty minutes.”

“Alright, until then do you have any teethers? Things you’ve put into the freezer to make cold for his mouth?”

“Uhhh….I don’t know.”

“Do you have some numbing cream to put on his gums?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you have anything your massive brain could think to use for a child in pain?”

“I…have whiskey! They say rub a little Jack on the gums, right?”

“HOWARD ANTHONY STARK, IF YOU GIVE THAT SIX MONTH OLD WHISKEY—“

“Ahhh!” Howard winced, both ears now ringing from the force of screams, though Tony had even quieted a little at hearing Peggy yell through the phone. “Alright, alright. No whiskey. Jesus, woman. What do I do?!”

“Cor, Howard, you’d have been better off if you’d _built_ a baby.” Peggy snapped, but Howard grinned despite the harsh words as he heard the shuffling that indicated she was getting ready.

“Maybe so, but as I did _not_ build this baby, I need help.”

“That much is plainly obvious. Give me a few moments and I’ll be over, yes?”

“Yes, thank you so much.” Howard sighed into the phone, hanging up once he’d said his goodbyes and continuing around the room, bouncing Tony who was still trying his best to make him go deaf.

He paced around the room like an idiot, bouncing Tony and wincing every time the boy would let go of his shirt or hair only to scream when the pain returned and kick out, trying to alleviate it.

“I know, bud, I know.” Howard whispered, making his way down to the foyer and shifting Tony so he could gnaw on Howard’s thumb. “Aunt Peggy’s coming, she’ll fix you.”

By the time he had made it down to the foyer, and half gotten his finger crushed from the force of Tony’s bites, Jarvis was opening the door to allow Peggy inside. Once she thanked the older man, she rushed towards him, holding out her arms. Howard gratefully passed Tony over, frowning when the boy didn’t immediately stop crying, Peggy wincing as he grabbed a handful of her brown hair and yanked.

“Ah! Poppet, not so rough. Auntie’s only got so much. He really is gutted, isn’t he?” She remarked and Howard nodded, shoving his hands through his hair in frustration.

“I can’t do it, Peggy. I can’t watch him constantly and still keep my military contracts.”

Peggy made a sound under her breath as she strode towards the kitchen, bouncing Tony and humming a soft tune as she went. Whether the vibrations or the sound, or possibly the fact that Peggy had tits, Tony was calming slightly, eyes drooping as he chewed furiously at his fingers.

“Honestly, Howard, get a nanny. If you can’t do it and Maria is refusing to do it, why not find someone whose entire focus is on Tony?”

“Maria doesn’t want one.” Howard grunted, leaning back against the counter as Peggy rifled through the freezer. “She says that she was raised by one and it was crap, so she refuses to get Tony one. Though I agree, for the sake of keeping my company afloat, I need one.”

“You _need_ a new wife.” Peggy snapped, fishing a blue plastic disk from the freezer and handing it to Tony who instantly started to chew on it, making happy sounds as drool slicked over it and onto his fingers.

Howard rubbed his forehead and nodded. He knew she was right, Peggy usually was. However…

“It’s not that easy, Peggy. I can’t just hire some pretty young nanny and hand Maria her divorce papers the same day. She’ll run to the headlines and judge with a story about how I’m trading her in for a newer model, or some other ridiculous shit.”

Peggy rolled her eyes as she took a seat at the counter, sitting Tony down in front of her, fat legs dangling over the edge. He cooed and growled around the disk, seemingly content for the moment to try and maim it with his nonexistent teeth. Peggy worried at her lower lip for a moment, a contemplative look on her face, before she spoke up.

“What if I…found you a nanny who wasn’t a woman?”

Howard arched a brow at the thought of a male nanny, and wrinkled his nose.

“Peggy, statistically speaking, the amount of nannies you could find me who would be both male, willing to put up with a baby like Tony, and not be creepy or weird, is shockingly similar to the amount of people who completely understand the ending of Lost.”

The woman rolled her eyes and deftly captured the disk as it slipped from Tony’s hand, handing it back to the boy and wiping the transferred drool from her hand with a grimace.

“I have…someone in mind. He’s fantastic with children, well-versed in First Aid, CPR, all those things. Very good swimmer, so he’d be able to take Tony in the pool, even give him lessons as he got older!”

Howard narrowed his eyes at his old friend, shifting around until he was on the opposite side of the island they were sitting at, bracing his forearms on the counter to hold his weight, grinning at Tony when the boy arched and turned to track him. Something in Peggy’s voice was off…and not in a good way.

“What are you leaving out, Carter?”

“Nothing, darling. Why in the world would I leave anything out? This is my godson we’re talking about.”

“I think you’d leave something out if you thought it was a deal-breaker for me but didn’t seem to be one to you.”

At those words she looked away, huffing unhappily as Tony flopped onto his belly on the counter, still chewing contentedly on the disk and protected by Peggy’s firm grasp on his waist.

“He’s…being discharged from the military.”

“A soldier?” Howard questioned, grabbing a small hand towel from the drawer below him and using it to wipe away the drool smudged around Tony’s mouth. “Why is he being discharged? Dishonorable or honorable?”

“Neither, it’s a medical discharge. There was an incident, I don’t know the details obviously, but his left arm was badly injured. He’s in therapy now and will be released next month.”

“Look, Peggy, I know you’re trying to do your military buddy a solid, but I can’t have someone watching Tony merely because you think he’s good with kids.”

Peggy glared at him, coming out of her seat to keep a hold on Tony who was slowly scooting his way towards Howard.

“Howard Stark, I would never advise you take on a nanny I didn’t fully trust. He’s a good man, he grew up in an orphanage and all I ever heard about his time there was how he was a big brother to every child who came through that place, from newborns to children mere months younger than himself.”

Howard sighed and picked Tony up, letting the boy snuggle into his shirt, obviously tired after his screaming. He crossed to the medicine cabinet and took out the bottle of liquid painkiller, double checking that an hour had indeed passed before taking it back to Peggy. She put down the phone she’d been furiously texting on and opened it, extracting the correct amount while giving him an expectant look. Howard rolled his eyes and gently pried his tie from Tony’s slick hand, mouth curling in disgust at how sodden the silk was from the short amount of time Tony had held onto it.

“Look, I’ll think about it, alright? I’ve been….considering divorce for a while now.”

“Have you?” Peggy asked sarcastically, handing Howard the syringe full of white medicine. “I had no idea. You leaning on my shoulder two months ago and drunkenly rambling how you would give me your company if I punched Maria in the mouth was _completely_ misleading then. I thought your marriage was going just fine!”

“It hasn’t been going fine since Maria got pregnant.” Howard grunted, forcing the tip of the syringe past Tony’s lips and slowly injecting the medicine into his mouth.

“Why not just leave the woman now then? Call her, tell her you’ll leave her things on the lawn, and be done with it?”

“I can’t do that. You know Maria. She’s more likely to take Tony and run. I’ll sit down tomorrow night with her and discuss it, tell her I’m filing for divorce and I’ll pay for the movers to get her things out of here.”

“Do I need to be here for that?” Peggy asked with an arched brow, striding to the fridge and grabbing out two bottles of water for them.

Howard nodded at her gratefully as he rocked the boy who had given up chewing on his teether to rub at his eyes and yawn, burying his face in Howard’s shirt. He smiled down at him sweetly, leaning down to drop a soft kiss atop Tony’s fuzzy black hair, snorting at the way the boy immediately tried to reach up and grab his mustache.

“I don’t think it’ll help to have you in the room, you’ll get labeled a home-wrecker. But if you could take Tony tomorrow, get him out of the house while we chat?” Howard stuck out his bottom lip as Peggy sighed and rolled her eyes, crossing to press a gentle kiss to his cheek.

“I suppose I could. Twist my arm, Howard, I swear.”

Howard grinned at his old friend as she leaned down to scoop the now almost asleep Tony from his arms, rocking him and laying soft kisses on his head as well. She addressed him softly, nodding towards the phone she’d left lying on the counter.

“Look, I texted that man. I gave him your Skype address, told him to give you a ring in about ten minutes. He said he’ll be in touch then.”

“Peggy! Damnit, no! I look like shit!” Howard said, gesturing to his sodden tie and stained shirt with a broad gesture.

Peggy merely rolled her eyes in response and started out of the room once more.

“It’s not a Skype date, Howard, it’s an informal interview. Just change your shirt, or take it off, and talk to the man. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Howard opened his mouth to comment on the suggestive wink she shot him as she purred the last few words, but she was already gone, swaying her way down the hall, singing softly to Tony. He cursed and headed off towards his study, tearing at his tie as he went. If the man had a problem with him being in his undershirt, he wasn’t the type to be okay with getting thrown up on and slobbered all over and thusly not a good fit anyways. Howard slammed into his study and threw his now loosen tie onto the couch, quickly stripping out of his shirt until he was left in nothing but the black muscle tee he’d put on, braving the dark color since his shirt had been an incredibly deep ruby red.

A gift from Peggy, when she complained white and black only looked good on penguins and newsprint.

He sat down in front of his computer, swirling a finger over the screen to bring it to life and activate his Skype account. Once it had signed in he saw the friend request he’d expected, from someone named zimnivojak. Howard arched a brow at the foreign language but accepted it regardless, waiting for the telltale bloop that told him that person was now online. Once the minutes clicked over onto the right time, the call rang through. Howard was slightly impressed by the attention to detail before remembering this was a soldier and probably something he was used to.

Did not mean he was punctual in his day to day life.

He accepted the call and waited patiently for the screen the load, only to bite down on his lip instinctively once it did. Jesus…this man was…perfection. Howard hadn’t swung that way since college but man, did this soldier ever make him want to. He could only see the man from his chest up, and most of it was covered by a hospital gown. But that didn’t hide the fierce looks, the tousled brown hair, and the blue eyes that stared directly into his.

Howard shifted to alleviate the pressure on his sudden, and unwanted, erection, fighting down the hormonal response, when the man spoke up, his voice pouring through the speakers like water over rough rocks.

“Howard Stark?”

“That’s me.” He answered with a nod, the man returning the gesture. “And you are?”

“Peggy didn’t—wait, this is Peggy, of course she didn’t. Sarg—Well, no, I suppose not any longer. James Barnes, at your service.” He said with a rueful grin at his slip up, bringing up a hand to rub at the back of his neck.

Howard took note that his arm seemed perfectly fine and realized it was probably his left arm that had been damaged, as he was keeping it against his side in a manner that wasn’t obvious, but very deliberate.

“Nice to meet you, Mister Barnes. Did Peggy explain what’s going on?” Howard asked, inclined to be polite to this man, if only to foster the relationship of nanny and employer.

He wasn’t going to fuck the help. So if he did wind up hiring the man he needed to get his libido under control.

“She told me you’re having some kid troubles? Looking for a nanny?”

“Yeah,” Howard nodded once more. “I’m going through a…relationship change. And running a business with an infant is going to be damn near impossible.”

Barnes nodded, scrubbing a hand over his jaw.

“Yeah, I can see that. Raising a kid makes cleaning the house hard, let alone trying to run a business. So what would I be doing? Provided I got the job, that is.”

Howard linked his fingers and tapped his thumbs together, thinking for a moment and eyeing the man. To his credit, he didn’t even shift uncomfortably, merely staring right back at Howard with those ice blue eyes. Howard cleared his throat and thought for a moment before answering.

“Well, if Tony likes you, which might be the hardest part of this all, he’s awfully picky. But you’d be watching him, responsible for his eating habits, sleeping, bathing, what have you.”

“Not so hard, then. He’s six months, right? Starting to teeth about now?”

“Uh…yeah, actually.” Howard blinked at the screen in shock. “How did you know?”

Bucky shot him back a small grin and arched a brow.

“Grew up in an orphanage, Mister Stark. The second I’d get a tooth to pop through for one kid, the next one would start going through it.”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. So then, back to business, you’d also be responsible for Tony’s free time planning. I’d like him to be as active as he can be at any age, and we have a pool so I’d like for him to be taught how to swim. It may be a slight challenge, he hasn’t been introduced to water save for a bath, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

“You…haven’t taken him into the pool yet?” Barnes asked, a confused look spreading across his face as he shifted once more.

“No.” Howard answered shortly, annoyed by his tone. “As I said, I’ve got a company to run, Mister Barnes.”

“Woah, sorry, no harm meant.” The man said, holding up his hand and waving it slightly. “Just was surprised, most parents are eager to get their kids in the water, see their reactions and whatnot.”

Howard supposed that was fair enough, as far as assumptions went, and let it go. They chatted for a few moments longer, Barnes incredibly deliberately keeping his left arm still and shifting every so often. They agreed to meet in a month when he would be released from therapy and Howard would have gotten everything settled with Maria and her removal from the house. Before signing off, Barnes said one last thing to him that made Howard gape at the screen.

“Ah, Mister Stark, got one last thing to ask you.”

“Yes?”

“Well, see, I grew up without parents. It’s gonna be hard on the kid to lose his mom, even if she isn’t around much. So, will you be taking time to do stuff with Tony too? If I’m the nanny then I’ve got his best interests at heart, and I don’t want to see you pull that crap other rich parents do and just let someone else raise the kid completely.”

The sheer….audacity. But, whether Howard wanted to admit it or not, Barnes had a point. He didn’t want Tony to grow up thinking both his parents didn’t want to spend time with him. Howard nodded, rubbing his hand across his mouth and smiling from behind it.

“Yeah, I’ll be around you guys as well. If you get the job, we’ll meet every night to discuss the day and plan for the next, sound fair?”

“I’m used to schedules, function better on them, to be honest.” Barnes said with a grin, nodding. “Fair deal. I’ll see you in four weeks, Mister Stark.”

Howard signed off just in time for Peggy to stride in, reaching over to turn on the monitor, seeing Tony fast asleep in his crib. He sat back and scrubbed his hands through his hair, cracking his neck and glaring at the woman who settled on the edge of his desk.

“You didn’t tell me he was hot.”

“Mmmm, darling, I didn’t need to. I figured you would see that for yourself.” She teased, crossing long legs and drumming her fingers on her knee.

“Peggy, why the hell would you have me hire a hot man as Tony’s nanny?”

“Because, regardless of whether you two hop in bed or not, James is someone who will challenge you. I love you, darling, I do. But you need to stop treating Tony like someone else’s child. You love that boy, and it’s obvious, but you don’t spend nearly enough time with him.”

Howard groaned and leaned over to rest his forehead on her knee, letting her stroke slow fingers through his hair. She was right, he knew she was, but it was hard. He didn’t know everything to do to keep a child _alive_ , let alone happy and content. Barnes would be fantastic, if his question about spending time together was any indication, and while he still had to interview the man, right off the bat he seemed like someone who would be just what Tony needed.

“Darling, do not fall asleep on my leg. The last thing I need is drool stains on these pants.” Peggy gently reprimanded, tweaking his ear.

Howard groaned and learned back, rubbing his hands on his face.

“Alright, alright. Look, I’ve gotta call the lawyer anyways, get this whole thing set up. Shouldn’t take very long.”

“Because of the pre-nup?”

“Because of the fact that I had him draw up the papers about two weeks ago.”

Peggy laughed, clapping her hands together at his wry admission. Howard grinned back at her, amused that his imminent divorce caused her so much pain.

“Glad to see you’re sharing my pain over the divorce.”

“Howard, the day you married that woman you proposed to me and told me if I said yes, you would happily run off with me.”

“Yeah, well, I stand by that decision.”

“You barely _stood_ at all on your wedding day, not after the bloody marys, whiskeys, and Irish coffees.”

Howard groaned at the thought and memory. Peggy was right; he’d woken up that day and started drinking, fairly heavily in fact. By the time Maria had walked down the aisle, he had been so far inside the bottle the only thing keeping him there was Obadiah standing at just the right angle behind him to prop him upright.

That probably should have been a warning.

“Alright, well I’m going to pop off to bed, darling. I do want to be fresh and alert tomorrow night, I know how children who are teething can be. I’ll take my usual room?”

Howard nodded, leaning back in his chair.

“Already made up for you, usually is. Look, Peggy, I owe you for this.”

“For taking my adorable godson for the day? Hardly.”

“No,” he captured her hand as she went to get off the desk, pulling her until she stood between his legs. “For finding the nanny, and being there for this hell of a marriage even if my wife has nearly driven you crazy a couple of times. And for comforting me sexually when I get depressed during the divorce.”

Peggy laughed at his last line, though from the line itself or the fact that he’d wriggled his eyebrows like an idiot when he’d said it, Howard didn’t know. Leaning down to capture his chin, she pressed a warm kiss to his mouth, Howard trying, and failing, to deepen it before whining in disappointment when she pulled back.

“We’ll see about all that, darling. For now, no midnight tiptoe.”

“Alright, alright, deny the billionaire.”

“Oh, believe me, Howard, I find as much pleasure in that as I would the act itself.”

Howard flipped her off, rolling his eyes as she laughed once more and strode from the room, giving him a jaunty wave as she cleared the doorframe. Sometimes he often wondered why in the hell he stayed friends with Peggy Carter after their disastrous run at a relationship when they were younger. Usually shortly thereafter he would see her in a bikini and be _clearly_ aware of why. But she was the best friend he’d ever had, better than even Obadiah, who helped run his _company._

Shoving himself up from the chair, he snagged the monitor and made his way to his bedroom, rolling his shoulders as he did so. Tomorrow was going to be awful, he could feel that already, and would only get worse depending on how hungover Maria was. Hopefully, though, within a month Maria would be a distant unhappy memory and he would have a very attractive nanny chasing Tony around.

Though, knowing his luck, something would happen to throw his perfect plans.

Something always did.


	2. Tiny Tony and Bucky Barnes, Babysitter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Howard meets Bucky in the flesh, tiny Tony likes his new friend, and Bucky Barnes makes good use of his new big bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Bucky Barnes earns the story it's rating (kinda). Enjoy!

“Tony, would you stop—damnit, child, just give me your—Tony!” Howard sat back on his haunches and growled in frustration.

Tony stared up at him, triumphantly grinning around the fist shoved in his mouth, clothes hanging half on him. Howard had been trying to get the kid dressed for ten minutes now, and Tony yanking his arms away to shove his fingers in his mouth had him at his breaking point.

“I hope you like this nanny, Tony, because I cannot do this anymore.” Howard huffed, once again trying to gently guide Tony’s arms into his clothes as the boy kicked and cooed at him.

The past month had been hell, between Maria’s mood-swings of ‘I’m going to _ruin_ you, Howard Stark’ and ‘I can change, let’s just be a family, darling’, trying to run the company with Tony crawling around, and trying to keep his head down from the press who’d, surprise surprise, gotten wind of the divorce about a week after he filed. Howard made a mental note to send Peggy somewhere very nice for her birthday for all the help she’d been.

Even if she’d refused to sleep with him every time he’d asked.

“Alright! Finally, okay, let’s go meet the nanny.” Howard sighed, scooping up a fully dressed Tony and plopping him on his hip, snagging a toy off the bed to hand to the boy.

He quickly trotted down to the foyer, cursing when he caught sight of the time. Barnes was supposed to be here now, and the last thing Howard wanted was to demand he be on time and show up late. Luckily, just as he hit the top of the stairs, Jarvis was opening the door and greeting the soldier. Howard paused for a split second, breath catching at the sight of Barnes striding in, all lean movements and proper posture, before scolding himself for being a fucking Harlequin heroine and continuing down.

“Mister Barnes, sir.” Jarvis announced, giving Tony a small smile when the boy grinned in his direction before striding off towards the kitchen.

“A pleasure.” Howard said, holding out a hand and grinning at Barnes’ firm shake.

“Same here, Mister Stark. Is this the little guy?” Barnes said, tilting his head to catch a look at Tony who was eyeing him suspiciously.

Howard nodded and took a moment to look Barnes over. The man was nicely dressed, dress shirt and pants, but lacked a tie and his shoes weren’t as polished as Howard would expect a military man’s to be. He noticed a black driving glove on Barnes’ left hand, his arm kept still once more, and wondered just how extensive the damage was.

“This is Tony, I should warn you he’s generally suspicious of strangers.” Howard cautioned and Barnes nodded, taking a step closer and grinning at the boy.

“I understand that. It’ll come in handy when you’re older, Tony. Shows you’re a smart lil guy, that’s for sure.”

To Howard’s dismay, Tony buried his face in his shirt and whined a bit. Damnit, he was really hoping Tony would approve, at least a small bit. At this rate, it didn’t look promising for Barnes. The man took a step back and regarded Tony for a moment before looking to Howard.

“Is he crawling yet?”

“Awkwardly and sometimes he flops over, but he can make his way around eventually.” Howard answered, brow furrowing at the question.

“Perfect. Do you have a play room or something? Where his toys are?”

“Ah, yeah. Follow me.” Howard turned and led them up to the second story room he had re-vamped.

Barnes took a look around before settling on the plush rug, still keeping his arm as close to his body as he could. He rolled one of Tony’s balls, the smaller things inside it clacking as it moved and drawing Tony’s attention. Barnes grinned at the sight of Tony craning around to see and nodded towards the rug.

“If you wanna put him down? Sometimes kids want to meet new people on their own terms and the worst thing you can do is force them in someone’s face.”

Howard obligingly put Tony onto the carpet, the boy immediately pushing up onto his hands to watch Barnes slowly move a few more of his toys around. He stepped back to observe and was shocked when, within minutes, Tony made his way over to Barnes to pat and grab at a toy the man held. Barnes slowly put his hand on Tony’s back, grinning once the boy cooed at the toy and successfully captured it within his hands.

It occurred to Howard, as Tony rocked back and flipped, attempting to sit up, that there was going to be a major issue if Barnes didn’t have full use of both his arms. You could do a lot with only one arm, but to watch kids it was a lot more helpful if you had two.

Hell, Howard was learning you needed about eight to fully take care of a kid, and sometimes you still ran out of hands.

But, just as he was about to bring it up, Barnes simply reached out and plucked Tony up, placing him on his butt and steadying him before taking his hands away. He quickly rested his arm back on his leg, and talked softly to Tony for a while, grinning and laughing at the boy’s attempts to grab at his face and clothes when the toy became boring. Once Tony grabbed onto Barnes’ lower lip and the man grimaced, Howard stepped in and scooped the boy away.

“Sorry, he’s not too good with, uh, personal boundaries.” He explained as Barnes climbed to his feet, waving a hand.

“Oh, ‘s alright, Mister Stark. Kids his age never are, doesn’t bother me none.”

“Well, good. Since you passed the first test, shall we step into my office to go over your resume?”

Barnes nodded, surprising Howard by scooping up a few toys from the floor before following him from the room. Once they reached the office and the door was shut firmly behind them, he placed them on the floor beside Howard’s desk, looking expectantly at Howard. He blinked back at the man stupidly before realizing Barnes expected him to put Tony down on the floor and complied, tilting his head when Tony grabbed for the toys instantly instead of trying to wander around like he usually did.

“Normally when he’s in here, it’s a constant ‘stop’ and ‘no’ and ‘don’t touch’.” Howard explained, crossing to take his seat behind the desk as Barnes settled himself opposite him, keeping an eye on Tony.

“Kids need stimulation, he’s learnin something new every time he grabs something. Best to keep toys wherever you go, it’ll delay his explorer tendencies.” Barnes explained, and Howard wanted to slap himself for not thinking of that.

Genius level intellect didn’t mean shit when it came to kids, apparently.

“Fair enough, thank you for the advice.” Howard said, dragging the resume Peggy had emailed to him yesterday back in front of him and skimming it. “I knew you were certified in CPR and First Aide, but I’m not sure what exactly ‘experience in preparation of nutritional food’ means, exactly.”

Barnes palmed his face and sighed, reaching down to turn Tony around from where he’d crawled to his feet, the boy giggling before taking back off for his toys.

“Can I be straight with you, Mister Stark?”

 _I’d really rather you weren’t,_ Howard thought briefly before batting the thought away and nodding.

“I actually have no idea what that resume says. I sent Peggy my actual resume to look over and she said she’d send the rough draft to you. She told me she would check with you to see if I needed to be clearer on anything and have you email me back if that was the case, and by lack of response from you, I figured everything was all good and well. Apparently not, however.”

Howard chuckled and set the resume aside, making a note to call Peggy and chide her for being so damn sneaky.

“That sounds about right for Peggy. I have to say, as a businessman, I admire that you sent it to someone else to look over. Shall we just chat, then?”

Barnes nodded, looking a bit relieved, and settled himself after a quick check on Tony. Howard was slightly impressed by his attention to the boy before the cynical part of him snarked that he was interviewing for a _nanny_ position. Of course he’d be expressing interest in the child.

“So, I know you were in the military. Before that? Any college?”

“No, enlisted the day after I graduated, shipped out two weeks later. Always knew I was going to be a military man for life. That was the plan, anyways.” Barnes said with that same rueful smile, and Howard nodded in understanding.

He was nodding a lot around this man, but better that than quiz him on his sexual orientation and openness to fucking his boss.

“At least you had a plan for your life. Then obviously the military is where you learned CPR, first aide, etcetera?”

“Yeah,” Barnes nodded, turning Tony around once more with a small smile at the boy’s laughter. “We were taught adult, animal, child, every single type that we might need to know on the battlefield. Specialized unit, a little more precise about what we needed to know.”

“Specialized? May I ask, then, Mister Barnes, what exactly your position was?”

Barnes gave him a small smile before scratching at the back of his neck uncomfortably.

“Uh, I was a sniper. Sharpshooter. Whatever you’d like to call it.”

Howard mulled the information over for a moment, taking note at how Barnes was now sitting defensively instead of uncomfortably. The man was obviously not happy about letting that little piece of information out, with good reason. Not many people would hire a nanny whose specialty was a head-shot at five hundred yards, but Howard wasn’t most people.

“Good, you’ve got good eyes then. You’ll need them watching Tony.” Howard said, cracking a small grin when Barnes looked momentarily thrown before grinning back.

“You grew up in an orphanage, you said? Comfortable disclosing the reasons why?”

“Ah, not exactly, but it’s better to start off on the right foot, yeah? Dad liked the bottle, lot more than he liked mom, anyways. One night, she had enough, stood up to him, and he knocked her down for good. Twenty-five to life, and me shipped off to the nearest orphanage.”

“My condolences.” Howard inclined his head for a moment but Barnes waved a hand.

“Hey, in the past and not your fault. Is this the portion of the interview where I ask questions?”

“As informal as this interview is going, you could have asked them all along.” Howard chuckled, waving a hand for Barnes to go ahead, the man glancing at where Tony was currently chewing on the trunk of his elephant before speaking.

“I’ve…heard you’re separating from Tony’s mother. Is there ever a scenario where I’ll come into contact with her, and if so, what should my actions be?”

“News does travel fast,” Howard remarked, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “You may very well. I try to work from home because Tony’s a child, but there will be instances where I’ll have to go on business trips and such. You’ll be responsible for Maria’s visitation, whatever the court decides that is. However, if I’m not home and I’ve not expressly informed you she’s dropping by, under _no_ circumstances do you allow her into this house, am I understood?”

“You think she’ll run with him?”

“In a heartbeat.” Howard answered, Barnes looking pensive for a moment before nodding in acceptance.

“I’ll be on guard then. Can I…assume I’ve got the job?”

Howard glanced down at the sight of Tony, once again, trying to crawl up Bucky’s leg, the man grinning at him and reaching down to tap a finger against his nose. The sheer joy that spread across Tony’s face was more than enough to convince Howard. The man would be living with them, after all, and there would be plenty of time for him to learn more about the man.

Besides, he’d already done an extensive background check on the man that came back clean save for a few fights when he was younger.

“You do indeed, Mister Barnes. I suppose you’re curious about your salary?”

Barnes nodded, lifting Tony up and placing the boy on his knee, bouncing it slightly as Tony giggled and growled, patting at his hands.

“Naturally something I’d be curious about.”

“If it sounds fair, how about 38,000 a year? Of course, I’ll be providing room, board and insurance, as well as a cell phone, computer, and of course you have your pick of the cars in the garage to use should a driver not sit well with you. Or, if you’d like, you can pick your own vehicle. Just let me know who to make the check out to and I’ll have a credit card issued in your name for gas and other expenses you’ll run into for Tony.”

Barnes stared at him for a moment, mouth hanging slightly open before he recovered and shook his head.

“I…whoa, okay. Give me a second here, Mister Stark. For clarification, I’ll live here, right?”

“If that’s not an issue? You’ll be Tony’s nanny for quite a while, eventually you’d have moved in out of necessity.”

Barnes nodded in understanding before scooping up Tony and grinning at the boy when he immediately reached for his face. Howard spotted a small bit of skin exposed by the stretch at his wrist and swallowed hard at the angry, scarred look of it before becoming distracted by the man’s words.

“Hear that Tony? You’re stuck with me now, kiddo! And apparently your Daddy is gonna spoil me rotten, so that means nothing you do is gonna get rid of me.”

Howard laughed, pulling out the contract he’d drawn up from his bottom drawer and setting it on the desk.

“When you’re done taunting the boy, this contract outlines everything we discussed, as well as any other small details. Read it and initial at the bottom of each page, and sign the last one, please.”

Barnes nodded and shifted Tony to his knee, pulling the contract closer with his free hand and starting to skim through it. As he did so, neatly avoiding all of Tony’s attempts to grab a hold of his hair, he spoke up once more.

“I suppose it’s not outlined here, and I should have thought to ask, but what’s dress code around here?”

 _As naked as you feel like being, preferably while bent over something_.

Howard gritted his teeth at the thought and shook his head, standing to take Tony and prop him on his hip.

“I won’t expect you to wear a uniform of any sort, just wear appropriate clothing. And please, no Speedos when you swim in the pool.”

Barnes quirked a grin at him before playfully pouting.

“Ah, darnit. Guess I’ll to go return my brand new gold one.”

Howard rolled his eyes and chuckled, starting from the room and calling over his shoulder.

“Once you’re done I’ll have Jarvis go with you to get your things. We’ll settle your bills, lease, and whatnot tomorrow. You can start tonight?”

“Yes, sir. And Mister Stark?”

“Hmm?” Howard paused and turned in the doorway, distractedly detangling his tie from Tony’s fingers. “What is it?”

“Just…thank you. You won’t actually ever believe how much of a life saver this job is.”

Barnes’ eyes were glowing with something painful, something that let Howard know this wasn’t a subject to touch, but that the man felt obligated to say something.

“Yeah, well, considering it’s Tony, it might just be a life- _ender_. Don’t thank me yet.”

**********************************************

Bucky Barnes considered himself to be a fairly intelligent individual. Hell, you had to have some smarts to survive in an orphanage, even more to figure out how to get your scrawny ass best friend from getting said scrawny ass kicked constantly because he refused to back down from a fight. Right now, he had no intelligence. Had no smarts, street or otherwise. What he _did_ have, however, was an incredibly hot new boss, the walking version of Bucky’s best wet dreams.

Which would be why he was sprawled in the middle of the huge bed in his massive room that his boss had given to him, keeping an ear out for the monitor on the other side of the room, and gripping his hard cock gingerly.

He’d fought down massively inconvenient boners pretty much all day, following Howard around as he explained the ins and outs of Tony’s schedule and habits. Which meant he’d spent a good portion of daylight staring at a _fantastic_ ass about three feet in front of him while trying to act like he wasn’t doing a damn thing. Holding Tony helped, nothing happened then, except for a momentary panic moment when Tony blew a bubble right in the middle of Bucky giving him a spoonful of food at dinner and Howard fucking laughed.

Like it was okay to do that shit.

Like it was completely okay to just fill someone’s ears with the auditory equivalent of a cock stroke and look so damn innocent doing it.

Bucky groaned and stroked his cock, tightening his grip at the head, hissing at the sharp pleasure. He was careful to not glance down, looking straight up at the ceiling to avoid making eye contact with his newly mangled arm, the very definition of the term ‘boner killer’. His eyes drifted closed as he settled into a fast rhythm, groaning low in his throat at the images that flashed across his mind.

Settling between Howard’s legs, licking up and down his cock as the man groaned and whined for him. Bending him over that big ass desk and licking him open until he was begging. Putting him on his hands and knees, peeling down those tight trousers he favored and sinking into that tight ass.

“Bet you love it rough.” Bucky breathed out, thinking of the man’s demeanor as his hand sped up, hips jerking into the hold.

Howard would probably be demanding as hell in bed, gripping and begging to get fucked harder, faster, rougher. Bucky could just imagine what it would be like, the man fisting his hair to drag him into a kiss, taking control, flipping Bucky onto his back. His eyes flipped open and he could picture it clearly, Howard sprawled over his lap, riding his cock and moaning like a porn star. Bucky’s head spun at the mental image and he moaned aloud, cock jerking in his hands as he spilled over his fingers, vision nearly whiting out at the pleasure.

Once the waves had passed and Bucky had caught his breath, he shoved himself up, striding to the bathroom to clean himself off. He avoided looking at his arm in the mirror, barely able to stomach glancing at his hand while he scrubbed them clean. Exiting the bathroom, all evidence of the fantasy cleaned away, Bucky froze when a soft whuff sounded from the monitor. He turned to look at it, bending down to see Tony moving around slightly in bed. Bucky snatched his hoodie from the bedpost, tugging it on and starting down the hall, his basketball shorts making soft sounds as he strode towards Tony’s room.

He’d just pulled the door open when Tony let out the first cry, crossing quickly to scoop the boy up and cradle him close. Bucky felt a wave of guilt as the boy settled in, grabbing onto his hoodie string and gnawing on it. This was his _job_ now, taking care of this little guy, and he was whacking off to thoughts of his boss?

Hello, all time low.

Bucky bounced the boy slightly as he made his way down to the kitchen, Tony getting more and more agitated as the steps went by. Normally, kids would be sleeping thorough the night by now, but Bucky supposed that having your mom suddenly disappear and a new person in your life would make for rougher sleep. They’d just stepped into the kitchen when Tony twisted in his arms, peering into the darkness of the hallway next to them and whining.

Bucky was instantly on alert at the sound of soft footsteps, memories filtering back in as he instinctively reached down for the gun that wasn’t there, fingers closing on the end of his hoodie instead. Gritting his teeth at the idiotic behavior, he twisted so his body was between Tony and the approaching figure.

“Who’s there?” Bucky barked out, and then immediately wanted to shoot himself when Howard stepped into the light of the kitchen, looking worn out and tired, still dressed in his dress shirt and pants.

“Just me. I heard Tony cry, is everything alright?” Howard asked, and Bucky nodded, turning to show the boy to Howard.

He gritted his teeth at Howard’s soft inhale, eyes darting to Bucky’s hand before bouncing back up to meet his gaze.

“Forgot my gloves.” He offered lamely, handing the boy over when Tony started reaching and whining at Howard. “It won’t happen again, Mister Stark.”

Howard let Tony snuggle close, moving his head away with an indulgent smile when Tony reached for his mouth, before shaking his head at Bucky.

“I knew about your injuries. Don’t feel as though you have to hide them. If I’ve made you feel such a way, I apologize.”

Bucky shook his head, momentarily thrown by the words. Most people wouldn’t look a wounded vet in the eyes, let alone apologize for any assumed slight they might have given them.  He tucked his hands in his hoodie pocket, feeling the gnarled skin under his fingertips as he linked them.

“It’s alright, you’ve been fine. I think he might be cutting another tooth, though. I was going to go searching for some ibuprofen.”

As if on cue, Howard winced when Tony bit down on the thumb he’d allowed him to pull to his mouth, yelping and drawing back when Tony shifted it. When he did, Bucky noticed a small spot of blood on the man’s thumb and stepped forward, lifting Tony out of his arms as Howard cursed and licked it off.

“Damnit, apparently so. I forget Tony has a tooth in there now.” Howard said, shaking his hand as he crossed to the cabinet next to the refrigerator.

“It happens, I don’t know how many times I got bit by kids. Hence the ‘nothing this kid can throw at me’ comment.” Bucky explained, leaning a hip against the counter as Howard rummaged through the cabinet.

His eyes shifted down the man’s body, taking in the narrow hips and broad shoulders with interest. Damnit, the magazines hadn’t been wrong when they named Howard Stark one of the world’s most attractive billionaires. This was going to be hell.

“Ah, here we go.” Howard said at last, drawing out some of the medicine and bringing the syringe over to Bucky.

He took it with a nod and eased the syringe into Tony’s mouth, slowly feeding him the medicine. Howard hovered nervously nearby and sighed once Tony swallowed his last mouthful. Bucky shot him a curious look as he hiked Tony a bit higher on his hip, handing the syringe back.

“Problem?”

“He’s got a hatred for medicine. Genetic, I think. I always hated it too.”

“It’s all how you do it, I think. If you treat it like it’s nasty, they’re gonna view it that way.”

“Where’d you become such a child-expert, Barnes? Years in an orphanage can’t build this kind of advice.” Howard asked with a smirk, leaning on the counter alongside him.

Barnes shrugged with a small laugh, neatly dodging Tony’s attempts to yank and pull at his ear.

“Hey, you go for a couple months on MRE’s and military food, you start looking elsewhere. Stationed down in Kuwait for a couple months, got close with a family. The mother and grandmother treated every person like their kid, I learned a lot from eating and talking with them.” He explained and Howard nodded, both of their attentions drawn from one another when Tony let out a loud yawn and let his head thunk down onto Bucky’s shoulder.

“Guess he’s worn out now.” Bucky joked, turning to stride out and put him back to bed.

He reached the doorway before a thought occurred to him and he glanced at the time and then at Howard’s clothes.

“Uh, you might wanna get to bed too, Mister Stark. It’s almost ten, and you mentioned something about a meeting early tomorrow.”

“Ah, shit, you’re right.” Howard said, glancing down at his watch and running a hand through his hair before shooting Bucky a look.

“Fair enough, Mister Barnes. We’ll chat tomorrow night about how your first full day with Tony went, and discuss anything you think you need then.”

Bucky nodded his agreement and made his way towards Tony’s room. As he lay the child down in bed, he couldn’t help but lean down and brush a small kiss atop his mop of fuzzy hair. Tony smiled sleepily at him and reached for the hand Bucky had used to brace himself, the soldier stiffening as Tony’s tiny fingers brushed against the rough scar tissue. The boy merely curled a hand around his finger and smiled once more before closing his eyes, the tension draining from his body. Bucky let him hold on for a few more moments before gently extracting his digit from the child, leaning back from the crib.

“Least you don’t mind the scars, kid. Sleep well.”

He headed from the room and passed Howard on the way to his, quirking a brow at the way the man neatly side-stepped around him before nodding his goodnight. Bucky sighed at Howard’s quick glance to his hand, shoving it into his pocket once more.

Just once…just once he’d like to meet someone who didn’t treat it like it was a big deal.

Well, someone who wasn’t about a foot tall and could eat solid foods.


	3. Howard Stark and the Huge Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obadiah Stane is always an ass, Bucky Barnes is NOT a pedophile, nor is he a slacker at his job. Maria Carbonell is a bitch, Tony is adorable, and Jarvis is an accidental cock-block.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long like whoa. I hope you guys like it, this is a lot to happen in one day. I feel Bucky's exhaustion! This probably will be the last update for a few days, I've got a few things to write for some other WiP's. ~~Iron Man AU? What Iron Man AU?~~ But then I'll be back!

Bucky was jerked from his sleep the next morning by a wail, rolling instinctively and landing on his feet in a crouch before realizing just what had yanked him from his slumber. He took off out the door, slamming into Tony’s room and scooping up the crying child.

“Hey, shhh, I got you. I got’cha, ‘ittle bit.” He hummed quietly, Tony snuffling as he curled into Bucky’s chest.

The baby’s fingers dancing over his skin made Bucky stiffen, realizing he’d forgotten to pull on a shirt before he’d ran from the room. With a shudder, he looked down, wincing at the sight of Tony’s soft, pure skin against his burn scars. Damn, the contrast made the twisted skin look worse in contrast, but Tony didn’t seem to mind, merely cooing at the different feels under his hands, moving slowly from burned skin to the insensitive patches where he’d had to have grafts. The view brought up memories of the past, of nurses with soft hands touching him in random places, asking if he could feel that, could feel anything. It was always a no, always a dead feeling.

Thank god for PT re-teaching him how to use the damaged limb, or he might’ve just cut the worthless fucking thing off and been done with it.

“How about breakfast?” Bucky suggested, Tony grinning up at him and babbling, a screech making Bucky laugh and wince at the pitch.

“Helluva set of lungs, kiddo. Alright, adventure time. Mission parameters; get Bucky a shirt so he doesn’t scare the rest of the house!”

Tony clapped his hands together and squealed, Bucky trotting from the room and hurrying to his own, thankfully not meeting anyone in the hallway when he did so. He put Tony in the middle of the bed, fluffing up the blankets around him to prevent an accident as he crossed to his dresser and looked in at his piles of clothes. Most of these were short sleeved, he was used to wandering around in the desert when he wasn’t on a mission and wearing long sleeves in some places was just asking for heat stroke. Sighing, he scooped his hoodie up from last night and tugged it on, remembering to snatch up his black glove and yank it on as he moved to where Tony had wriggled himself under the covers, only his lower half visible. Bucky chuckled for a moment at the sight of his butt straight up in the air, the elephant decal on it wriggling as he tried to move deeper under the blanket.

“Hey, let’s move our booties in another direction, yeah?” He asked, scooping Tony up and laughing when the boy blew a raspberry in his direction.

They made their way downstairs and into the kitchen, Bucky inhaling at the delicious smells wafting from the stove Jarvis was standing in front of.

“Smells good, sir. What’s for breakfast?”

Jarvis turned with an indulgent smile, gesturing to the silver platters next to him that were covered, the smells still leaking out from under the metal.

“For the adults, crepes, bacon, sausage, and of course scrambled eggs. Young Tony’s breakfast is sitting on the counter alongside his bib. And Mister Barnes, you needn’t call me sir. Simply Jarvis will suffice.”

Bucky shot the older man a grin as he crossed to grab Tony’s bib, putting it on the child who instantly grabbed at it to shove it into his mouth and chew.

“Fair deal, but only if you stop calling me Mister Barnes.”

“What should I call you then?”

“Friends call me Bucky.”

“I shudder to ask where the name comes from.” Jarvis quipped, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as Bucky laughed.

“Watch it, Jar, I know where you sleep. Where is everyone, by the way?”

Bucky looked around at the empty kitchen as he shook up the jar of food already warmed for Tony. Kid was apparently getting fruit for breakfast, some mango mixture that looked, frankly, like bile. He neatly dodged Tony’s attempts to grab at the jar, handing him the spoon instead as Jarvis slid a few more pieces of bacon onto the platters, closing the lids and shutting the stove off before answering.

“Mister Stark and Mister Stane are in the dining room, as per usual.”

“You’re…not serious, right?” Bucky asked, bewildered at the location. “I mean, I get eating dinner in the dining room, but breakfast is such a lazy affair. Why not eat it in the kitchen?”

Jarvis shrugged as he placed the platters on a rolling cart and added to it a pitcher of orange juice and a carafe of what Bucky assumed was coffee.

“It has always been such, Mister…Bucky. Shall we?” He nodded to the door across the kitchen behind Bucky and the soldier nodded, hiking Tony a bit higher as the boy growled and gnawed on his spoon, still eyeing the jar of food with a hungry look.

He pushed through the doors, pausing for a moment at the sight of Howard, dressed to impress even at this early hour, arguing quietly with a man around the billionaire’s age, someone Bucky recognized from the papers as Obadiah Stane.

“I’m just saying, Howard, perhaps since you’re running the business it would be easier to let Maria—“

“No, Obi, and you can stop right there. I know you’re only looking out for Tony, but the new nanny I hired seems fantastic with him. Tony’s attached already so it’ll be just fine.”

Obadiah rolled his eyes, both men too intent on the conversation to notice Bucky’s presence as he stayed put, hovering in the doorway with a hand held behind him to quiet Jarvis.

“A nanny, Howard? How cliché do you want the headlines to be?”

“How—I’m not going to fuck the nanny, Obadiah!”

“Oh, I’m sure you won’t for now. But I know you Howard, some little girl, probably blonde, bouncing around here, taking care of your son. You’re bound to develop some desires.”

“I don’t really bounce all that much,” Bucky said, finally entering the conversation, both men jerking as he strode towards where Tony’s high chair was set up at one end of the table. “And an unfortunate accident involving stupid friends and too much chlorine in a swimming pool taught me I’m not too handsome as a blonde.”

Howard cleared his throat uncomfortably as Obadiah gave Bucky a long look, the way one might look at a shady youth hanging around the entrance of a liquor store. Bucky gritted his teeth at the way the man’s eyes locked onto his glove, pushing the irritation down as he buckled Tony in and sat down next to him. He specifically used his left hand to pop the lid off the jar, wishing Jarvis hadn’t pre-heated the food so the pop had been a bit louder, to prove he was injured, but not invalid.

Bucky was distracted for the moment, getting Tony settled and having him taste the food, feeding him small bits until he decided he liked it, before grabbing a piece of bacon off his plate and biting into it, giving Jarvis a thumbs up as he chewed. Obadiah shuffled some things around before speaking up, giving Bucky a long look.

“I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.”

“Hard to do, considering I’ve been here a day. James Barnes, Mister Stane.” He said, offering his hand across the table as he fed Tony another spoonful of the mangos, the boy grinning at him and showing him a mouthful of food.

Obadiah took it with a rough grip, Bucky gritting his teeth at the pressure on his injured digits. Amazingly, and for fucks sake, weren’t rich people supposed to have tact, the man held onto his hand, twisting and turning it.

“Penchant for golf, Mister Barnes?”

Bucky set the spoon down and was about to yank his hand away, friend of his boss’ or not, when Howard reached up and actually _smacked_ Stane’s wrist, the man dropping Bucky’s hand like it was on fire to glare at the businessman.

“Howard!”

“He’s a veteran. Wounded with a medical discharge, which means he could have easily just broken your wrist. Don’t be an ass, Obi.” The man’s words were light, but his eyes told a different story, glaring at Obadiah with more disgust than Bucky would have thought necessary.

He withdrew his hand and let the table settle into uncomfortable silence, feeding Tony until he’d scraped the last bits from the jar, eating his own food along the way. Once he had set the jar aside, Tony made an impatient noise and banged his spoon down on the highchair tray.

“Sorry, Tony,” Bucky said, showing him the empty jar. “You scarfed it all down. No mas for you, chunky monkey.”

Tony whined in response, straining at his buckles towards the jar of food and Bucky sucked his teeth for a moment before cutting off a small piece of his eggs and lifting it to Tony’s mouth. Howard’s cough stopped him a few inches from the boy’s mouth and he looked around to see the man staring at him in wonder.

“Something wrong, Mister Stark?”

“I haven’t…Tony’s never had real food before.”

Bucky goggled at the man, turning his head to look at Tony before glancing back at his boss.

“You’re not serious? Not even mashed potatoes?”

Howard shook his head as Obadiah watched with sinister amusement, the expression on his face letting Bucky know just how amused he’d be if Howard let loose on him. Regardless, Bucky had been feeding kids at the orphanage real food as soon as it wouldn’t choke them, getting them off the expensive baby food that drained the places’ meager money supply.

“No better time to start then, right?” Bucky said, letting Tony finally grab ahold of the egg and shove it into his mouth, tongue licking out.

Movement from behind him almost had Bucky turning around, but he chose to keep an eye on Tony, watching as the boy moved his mouth around before swallowing and making a happy sound, reaching for Bucky’s plate.

“May I?” Howard’s voice right next to him made him jump and he nodded, moving aside slightly to allow Howard to lean forward and give Tony a small piece of the fresh strawberries that had topped the crepes.

He used the slight distraction as Tony blew bubbles at the sight of his father and Howard laughed while trying to keep the berry in his mouth to shove a few pieces of sausage into his mouth. A rough laugh from Obadiah had him chewing furiously and looking up as the man stood from the table, pulling on the suit jacket he’d hung on the back of his chair.

“Seems you’ve got a bit of practice in that.” He remarked dryly with a nod towards where Bucky was still holding a piece of sausage in his hands, Bucky swallowing hard at the implications and gritting his teeth.

This asshole was asking to be taken down a few pegs, but Bucky wasn’t going to jeopardize his job to do so.

Instead he sat silently as Howard sighed and brushed a kiss against Tony’s head, dodging the boy’s sticky hands to hand Bucky what looked like an incredibly expensive StarkPhone.

“I’ll call around noon, see how everything’s going. In the meantime, feel free to do as you please today. And questions you have that Jarvis can’t answer, text me and I’ll do my best to reply when I have time.”

Bucky nodded his understanding, tucking the phone inside his hoodie pocket and continuing to feed Tony bits of egg and strawberry, biting back a grin at the way Tony dodged Obadiah’s attempt to kiss his head as well, smacking a hand into the older man’s face. Once they were left alone, and Tony had started spitting back out any food Bucky fed him, he made quick work of eating the rest of his slightly cold breakfast, chugging down the orange juice afterwards.

A quick check of the clock told Bucky Tony had about three hours before he was going to lay down for his ten o’ clock nap Howard had told him about, and Bucky sat there for a moment trying to figure out what the hell to do with the day. Just as he was getting up to grab Tony from his seat and head off for a bath, Bucky’s new phone made a small sound, the soldier fishing it from his pocket to see he had a new text from Howard. Flicking it open, he set it down on the table while he picked Tony up, calling into the kitchen to thank Jarvis for the breakfast before scooping up the phone and heading towards Tony’s room.

_I’m sorry about Obadiah. Normally, he’s nothing like that._

_Hey, I rub people the wrong way sometimes. No need to apologize._

_Glad to see you weren’t too upset. Plans for the day yet?_

Bucky glanced down at Tony who was contentedly chewing on his fingers as they walked and typed back a question he hadn’t gotten the chance to ask yesterday.

_Nothing concrete yet past baths and naptimes. How many teethers does Tony have?_

_One, it wasn’t a high priority buy for the first few months._

_If it’s alright, I’d like to pick him up some more? I’m used to getting kids through teeth without medicine, if possible._

_Go on ahead. Jarvis will grab a credit card from the safe for you, yours should be delivered within the next day or so. Heading into office now, talk to you at noon_

Bucky resisted the urge to text back a ‘talk then’ or something along those lines, instead setting the phone on the bed and moving to start the bath water. Something about Howard Stark made him feel like a giant idiot and Bucky shook off all thoughts of how easy it would be to send the man a lascivious message, claim it was for someone else if it went over badly. Howard had clearly stated that he wasn’t going to fuck the nanny, and that was fine. That was perfectly fine.

It fucking sucked for Bucky, but it was fine.

Just….fine.

**************************************

“Oh dear god…” Tony laughed at Bucky’s face, grinning up at him from his seat inside the cart.

Bucky glanced once more at the massive wall of teethers, blinking at the wide array of designs and patterns. He had no idea there were so fucking many of them. What the hell was he supposed to buy, anyways?! All he knew was he needed something for the kid to gnaw on. He didn’t give a damn if it was ‘recommended by dentists’ or a ‘mom’s number one pick’. Bucky became aware, as he stood there like an idiot with Tony grabbing and yanking at his hoodie, of the eyes of numerous women on him, wandering through the aisles. He felt his face flush at the attention and ducked his head, pressing his face in close to Tony’s.

“I am being stared at by women who are probably still leaking milk and you are the cause for it. You had better love me.”

In response, the boy grabbed ahold of his hair, laughing playfully as Bucky growled low curses and tugged away from him. Normally women staring at him wasn’t an issue, but since getting completely naked with someone wasn’t really a possibility anymore, he was a bit more uncomfortable with the attention. Yeah, the day before he’d come to meet Tony and Howard he’d picked up some chick at a bar and banged her in the bathroom, but it was a hollow orgasm and did nothing to make him feel more like normal. He’d sworn, scrubbing off the smell of sex and perfume from his body in the shower that night, he wasn’t going to do that ever again.

“Awww, he’s so cute! How old is he?”

Bucky blinked at the sudden voice, looking up to see a blonde woman with a toddler propped on her hip staring at Bucky and Tony. He eased back from the boy and gave her a small smile, internally sighing when she glanced at his gloved hand with naked interest.

“He’s about seven months now.”

“Oh, that age!” She sighed, hitching the girl who was staring at him with a dazed expression a bit higher on her hip. “They’re so cute then, before they start throwing tantrums in the stores and demanding candy. Looking for teethers?”

Bucky nodded, wishing there was a polite way to tell her to leave when his phone rang, thankfully saving him from the conversation. He held up a finger to her, fishing it from his pocket and nearly sighed in relief when he saw it was Howard.

“Hello, Mister Stark.”

“Hello. How’s the day gone so far?”

“Ah, not too bad. Got his bath and lunch, laid him down for his afternoon nap and now I’m staring at a massive wall of teethers trying to figure out which ones to buy.”

Bucky noticed the woman shoot him a strange look, not budging from her spot as he wriggled his fingers in front of Tony, the boy giggling and grabbing at them.

“Just buy whatever you’d like. Money obviously isn’t an issue for me. Did you have any trouble getting there?”

“Ah, no, not exactly. I had the driver bring us, but I’d like to discuss the car situation tonight.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Howard laughed in his ear and Bucky shivered, trying to beat it down frantically lest he pop a boner in the middle of a children’s store. “Alright, fair enough. Well, if everything’s going alright, I’ll let you brave the toy store. I should be home in a few hours, I’m taking a half day today.”

“Everything’s going great, Mister Stark. I’ll see you at home, then.”

They said brief goodbyes before Bucky hung up the phone, noticing, with some irritation, the woman was now glancing between him and Tony with a suspicious expression.

“Is everything alright, ma’am?”

“Oh! Well, I couldn’t help but overhear…is this not your child?”

“No, ma’am,” Bucky said, holding out one of the toy’s he’d attached to the handle of the cart to Tony for the boy to gnaw on. “I’m the nanny.”

Her face grew cold at those words and she made a noncommittal noise before suddenly excusing herself and stomping off. Bucky saw her stop and talk to an employee for a moment from the corner of his eye and knew it was time for them to be on their way. He grabbed five or six teethers from the wall, including a few multi-packs of ones meant to be put in the freezer. Bucky shifted uncomfortably as he noticed the employee was now lingering around the aisle, trying a bit too hard to not look like they were watching him. Grabbing a hold of one more toy, a ring of keys with ends Tony could gnaw on, he tossed it atop the small pile in his cart and started towards the exit.

The employee shadowed him the whole way, staying back just far enough that a normal person would think nothing of it, but too close for an ex-soldier to not take notice. Bucky gritted his teeth through the whole ordeal, making small talk with the cashier as she rang him out before scooping up Tony and stomping from the store. He saw the same woman from the aisle in the parking lot and immaturely shot her a glare as she avoided his eyes, quickly climbing into her car.  He bounced Tony as he waited for the driver to pull around, buckling the boy in and climbing into the opposite side, settling in before he dug the phone out of his pocket and punched in a familiar number.

“Hello, darling. How’s life as a nanny going?”

“Oh, swell. Fantastic. Crazy woman, why didn’t you just shoot me when I came home?!” Bucky snapped, checking to make sure the soundproof divider was up between them and the driver and that Tony was distracted by his toys.

“Oh, what happened? Is Howard being an arse?”

“It’s not that he’s being one, it’s that he _has_ one. And a really nice fucking one at that. Thanks for making me work for one of the hottest guys on the planet.”

“I’m so sorry you’re sexually attracted to a man half of America is sexually attracted to.” Peggy’s voice was not amused and Bucky resisted the urge to growl down the line at her, scrubbing a hand over his face.

“It’s not just that. He stares at my arm like I have leprosy, especially after I forgot to wear my glove and ran into him one night while I was getting Tony medicine.”

“That arse! He’s been around wounded veterans before, how **dare** he treat you any differently—“

“Hey, hey, it’s not a big deal!” Bucky cut her off, handing Tony back a toy that had slipped from his grasp. “It’s just frustrating. I know I don’t have a chance with the guy, that helped cut down on any stupid notions I might have had.”

Peggy sighed as Bucky shifted to get more comfortable, rolling his shoulder to release some of the tension. Even after hours and hours of PT, it still got stiff sometimes, leading Bucky to have to strap ice to it and lounge in a warm bath until it released.

“Plus, I just got followed out of a toy store because I told some lady I was Tony’s nanny and suddenly she kept looking at me like I was some pedophile.”

“Oh, darling, I’m sorry. There’s a stigma attached to having a male nanny, I should have warned you. But from what Howard’s said, he’s very happy with you so far, and Tony seems to as well.”

“He’s…uh…mentioned me?” Bucky said, wishing he could scrub the heat from his cheeks and internally screaming at himself to stop acting like a pre-teen girl with a crush on the quarterback.

“Oh, yes, darling. Mentioned that you were a bit rough around the edges, but that Tony was quite taken with you. He also said he thought he’d made a wonderful decision in hiring you.”

Bucky flushed deeper and stumbled through the rest of the conversation, cutting it short when they reached the house. By the time they had gotten inside and eaten a small snack, Tony was rubbing his eyes and yawning. Bucky laid him down with a small kiss to his forehead, grabbing the monitor off its charging table and quietly exiting the room. He wandered around for a bit, popping into the kitchen to chat with Jarvis, who was making dinner, before making his way back to his own room and falling into bed.

Settling onto his back, Bucky placed the monitor next to him on the bed, relaxing into the mattress as a sudden tiredness overtook him. Man, taking care of a kid was exhausting. He’d forgotten just why it was so easy to sleep at the orphanage after a full day of running after kids. Bucky went through his mind quickly of anything he had to do and, finding nothing outstanding, closed his eyes for a moment. In a few minutes he’d get up, get himself a cup of coffee, and plan for what to do for the rest of the night.

Just five minutes of rest.

**************************************

“The house is awful quiet, Jarvis.” Howard commented as the man took his briefcase, stripping off his suit jacket and handing it to him as well.

“Indeed, sir. It has been an uneventful day.”

“How are Tony and Mister Barnes getting along?”

“Fantastically from what I have witnessed, sir. I believe that Tony is asleep in his room and that Mister Barnes has retired to his own, as I haven’t seen him around the house.”

“I’ll go check in with him then.” Howard murmured, rolled up the sleeves on his dress shirt as he strode away.

He made his way upstairs, stopping to check in on Tony and grinning at the sight of the boy sleeping in his customary position, sprawled on his stomach with his ass pointed up in the air. He shut the door quietly and continued on, turning into Barnes’s room. The hand he had raised to announce his presence by rapping on the open door stopped short at the sight that greeted him and Howard swallowed hard, unable to tear his eyes away.

Barnes was sprawled on his back in the middle of the bed, monitor laying close to his head, sound asleep. He was snoring softly, the boneless sprawl of his body highlighting his exhaustion and Howard didn’t blame him for a second. He leaned against the doorjamb, tracing his eyes down Barnes’ hard body. Even through the bulky hoodie, and honestly, did the man not own any long sleeved shirts, and loose jeans, it was obviously just how well built the ex-soldier was. Howard noticed, to his dismay, that even in his sleep, Barnes tended to keep his left arm close to his body.

Tony snuffled softly in the monitor, his usual sounds for when he was shifting position, not waking up, yet the noise made Barnes grunt and roll in his sleep. Howard felt a burst of warmth in his chest at the way he tilted his head closer to the monitor even unconscious and curled his body around it. This man…actually cared for Tony.

Far more than even the boy’s own mother.

Howard checked his watch and decided to let the man rest as long as Tony would when said boy let out a louder huffing, still not mad, Howard had heard it before when Tony was having a particularly difficult time getting settled. However, it was enough to have Barnes snapping up in the bed, scrambling for the monitor and bringing it close to his face, sighing in relief when no more sounds emanated from it. Barnes stretched in a luxurious way that yanked his hoodie high enough for Howard to see a sliver of toned, tanned stomach. He swallowed the sudden mouthful of saliva and was mentally berating himself for being such a lech when Barnes spotted him in the doorway and flushed, scrambling off the bed.

“Mister Stark, I am so sorry. I just came in here for a breather and I swear I didn’t mean to—“

Oh dear god, he was even more adorable when he was flustered and embarrassed. Howard held up a hand to stop him and shook his head, smiling gently.

“Hey, I understand completely. There were many a times when Tony was younger that I would just fall asleep on my desk. You work twenty-four hours a day, I expect you’re going to sleep when you can get it. As long as Tony’s not drowning in the tub or screaming his head off while you do it, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Barnes sagged and breathed out another sigh, scrubbing a hand over his face.

“Thank you. And Mister Stark, I promise. It won’t happen again.”

Howard waved away his concerns and glanced at the monitor, still showing Tony fast asleep in his crib. He’d be down for—Howard checked his watch—at least another half hour. Usually Tony would wake up from afternoon naps around three and be up until bedtime at eight. Clapping his hands together, he looked up to where Barnes was rolling his shoulder gingerly. The movements made him pause before brushing the thoughts of asking if he was alright aside. He already couldn’t stop staring at the man’s arm, the curiosity that had lead him to inventing and taking apart everything he could reach as a child translating into always stealing peeks, he didn’t need to jump at every motion Bucky made with it.

“Since we’ve got time now, you wanted to discuss the car situation? And of course, anything else you’ve noticed.”

Barnes nodded and followed him as Howard made his way to the sitting room just down the hall, relaxing in one of the chairs and gesturing for Barnes to sit in the other. He settled in, putting the monitor on the small table between them as Howard withdrew a cigar from the nearby box, holding it up.

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Used to it from deployment.”

“Would you care for one?”

Barnes shook his head once more, nodding towards his arm with a nonchalance that surprised Howard as he clipped his cigar and lit it.

“Stopped while I was in the hospital. Best to not pick up the habit again.”

Howard nodded in agreement, smoking in silence for a few moments before leaning forwards, bracing himself on his thighs.

“So, there’s an issue with the cars?”

Barnes shifted uncomfortably for a moment before seeming to steel himself, looking at Howard curiously.

“Mister Stark, have you ever taken Tony anywhere when you didn’t have a driver?”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Howard thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I haven’t. Why?”

Barnes huffed out a small laugh and scratched the back of his head before answering.

“Look, feel free to tell me to go screw myself and use the driver, but I’m not comfortable being driven around by anyone.”

“Then just use one of the cars. I thought I mentioned you were welcome to any save for my personal car that’s set apart from the others.”

“Ah, no, you did. And I took a look at them today. Um…Mister Stark, you do realize all your cars are two door cars, right?”

Howard nodded, blowing out a breath of smoke before thinking over what the issue would be. Yes, some of them were only two seaters, but a grand majority also had a backseat.

“I am. How is that an issue?”

“Have you ever tried getting a car seat in and out of a two door car?”

Howard groaned and resisted the urge to palm his face at Barnes’ look, wishing his genius intellect was a little less book and a little more street.

“God, I’m a moron. Get a new one then. We could go tonight once Tony wakes up?”

Barnes looked flabbergasted and seemed to be struggling for words. Howard watched the scene with amusement for a moment. Yes, it was stupid and arrogant of him, but he did enjoy watching people who weren’t used to having money struggle to comprehend how he could simply make such lavish purchases without thinking over them and balancing finances. He finally took pity on the poor man and spoke up.

“It’s not a huge deal. I would have probably realized this eventually anyways and gotten one. You just saved me the headache of figuring it out. If today doesn’t sit well, we could go tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow…would be better.” Barnes finally managed, scrubbing a hand through his hair.

“Alright then, if that’s settled, look tonight at the type of car you’d like to get. All I ask is that it’s got a high safety rating and it’s something you’re comfortable driving.”

“I can drive a tank, Mister Stark. Isn’t much out there I can’t drive, to be honest.” Howard barked out a laugh at Barnes’ dry tone, inclining his head in acceptance of the man’s assurance.

“Fair enough. Any more concerns, questions?”

“Just one. Uh, I was thinking maybe tonight, because I didn’t wear Tony out much today and I know kids sleep better when tired, could I introduce Tony to the water? It’s supposed to get a bit cooler next week, and I didn’t want to do it then. But I’d like to get him introduced quickly so I can see if I need to work with him any.”

Howard nodded with a smile, eager to see how Tony re-acted to the water. He himself loved to do a few laps when he had time, preferred it over running or working out in the gym to keep in shape, and he hoped Tony would follow along the same lines. Hearing Tony start to shuffle awake, he set the cigar down in the ashtray to burn out as Barnes climbed to his feet.

“Sounds fine by me. I’ll see you later then?”

Barnes nodded and quickly exited the room, Howard picking up the monitor to see him soon re-appear in Tony’s room. He watched with a small smile as the man scooped up Tony and murmured to him about going swimming, the boy grinning at him and snuggling into his body in the way of children who want to get up but aren’t ready to give up those last vestigial comforts of being sleep warm. Howard stretched as he got up, tucking the monitor into his pocket and striding from the room, already trying to figure out exactly where he’d left his swim trunks.

He was absolutely _not_ thinking about how amazing James Barnes probably looked in wet swim trunks.

No way.

_Sonofabitch!_

_******************************_

Bucky tugged his hoodie string away from Tony once more as they strode down the stone steps that led to the massive pool behind the Stark mansion. He was nervous about stripping out of the hoodie, but before they’d gone their separate ways, Howard had indicated he’d see him later, which Bucky took to mean at dinner. He’d already asked Jarvis to keep any of the staff away from the pool, under the excuse of not wanting Tony distracted or startled by anyone, but he was still paranoid about someone walking out and seeing him.

Tony wriggled in his arms, safe and sound in the life jacket Bucky had found in his closet in a box alongside his swim suit, water wings, inflatable rings, and just about everything else a child would need to never drown….ever. Bucky had laughed upon finding it, amused that Howard, he assumed, wouldn’t think to take the kid in the water but would buy everything imaginable for when he finally did. He set the boy down in a lounge chair, keeping a close eye on him as he set his cellphone to the side, scanning the surroundings with a suspicious glare once more before quickly yanking the hoodie and shirt underneath off in one smooth motion.

He separated the two, laying the hoodie on the chair in front of Tony, catching the boy with a grin when he instantly toppled forward trying to grab hold of it. Bucky scooped the boy up and started towards the end of the pool where the steps that led into it were, taking his hoodie along with him and laying it on the lounge chair closest to said steps. He wasn’t fully trusting and wanted to make sure if he heard someone coming, he’d be able to pull it on quickly.

Bucky slowly made his way into the water, stopping once the water hit his hips and covered Tony’s feet. The boy squealed at first but soon relaxed, even kicking at the water with a growl. Bucky took a chance and stepped down fully into the pool, the water rising to his navel and moving up Tony’s leg to cover him from the knee down. Tony seemed interested, leaning forward in Bucky’s arms to reach for the water and kicking furiously. Bucky grinned and moved the boy from his hip to the water, letting him sink in as far as the lifejacket would allow.

Tony cooed and giggled at the water, completely entranced. He cried for a moment when smacking the water resulted in it splashing back in his face, but soon was letting Bucky swirl him through the water, laughing uproariously. Bucky, naturally, was completely focused on Tony and his reactions, laughing along with the boy’s attempts to eat the water that were thwarted by Bucky and the life jacket. Thusly, he didn’t hear the approaching footsteps until a screech jerked his head around.

“Oh my god! Jarvis, call the police! Some man has Tony!”

Bucky felt all the air in his lungs abruptly leave as he stared at the edge of the pool, Maria Carbonell, formerly Stark, standing there with a horrified look on her face, eyes glued to his arm. Jarvis stood behind her, speaking urgently with his hands held out in front of him as though he wanted to tug her back into the house. Bucky couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, was frozen in horror at being exposed when he was like this when she spoke once more, the words cutting into chest so sharply he was surprised the water wasn’t slowly turning red around him.

“Jarvis, hurry! He’s got some sort of disease, look at his arm!”

“What in the **fuck** is going on out here?!”

Oh…awesome. More viewers to Bucky’s humiliation.

Howard came tearing out of the house, dressed in swim trunks and a light polo, marching up to where Maria stood. Jarvis started babbling apologies as Bucky sank as deep into the water as he could, shame burning his face as he knelt on the bottom of the pool, still keeping Tony upright, the boy staring at his mother with a look that was decidedly _not_ the look one expected a child to give the mother he hadn’t seen in a while.

Maria grabbed at Howard’s arm once he got within range, pointing desperately to where Bucky was arguing the merits of drowning himself against keeping hold of Tony.

“Howard! Go get him! That freak is going to drown Tony!”

“That is **enough** , Maria!” Howard snapped, ripping his arm away and stepping between her and the pool. “That _man_ is Tony’s nanny, and he’s done a better job raising him in two days then you did his whole life!”

“Howard, he’s **deformed**! What’s wrong with him?!”

Oh god, why didn’t he just kill himself that night before he got sent to rehab?

“Now listen, Maria, and listen to me well.” Bucky blinked at Howard’s tone, the vicious snarl out of place from the man’s usual calm demeanor. “James Barnes has been an amazing help to me and will continue to do so. He is an injured veteran and that _alone_ earns him respect. Now you can either apologize to him and pray to God he forgives you for your frankly **disgusting** comments, or you can get the fuck off my property.”

Bucky held his breath in the silence that fell, even Tony realizing the tenseness in the air and making quiet, unhappy huffs until Bucky cuddled him close. Maria huffed and stepped around Howard, pinning Bucky with a glare that only deepened when she saw how Tony was hugging onto him.

“My apologies.” She gritted out between clenched teeth, her painted lips barely parting as she spoke.

Bucky rose from the water begrudgingly, holding Tony close as he made his way up out of the pool. He gritted his teeth at the stares from everyone before stopping a few feet from the group.

“It happens.”

Maria turned to Howard with an ‘are you satisfied’ arch to her brows and Howard growled, actually fucking _growled_ , from deep in his throat.

“What do you want, Maria?”

“Some time with my son! Is that too much to ask?”

“Fine. You can play in his room with him. You have about an hour and a half before it’ll be time for dinner.”

Maria tossed her hair over her shoulder with a practiced movement, turning back to speak to Jarvis as Howard took Tony from him. He carefully avoided looking at Bucky as he did and once the boy was free of his arms, Bucky tugged on his hoodie, not caring in the slightest about how it instantly stuck to his wet skin.

“Perfect. What’s for dinner, Jarvis?”

“Whatever you pick up on the way home, Maria.” Howard snapped, handing Tony to Jarvis instead of Maria, facing her with his hands on his hips. “You’re not staying for dinner. Not after that shit. You should consider yourself lucky I’m allowing you to stay at all.”

Maria huffed and followed after Jarvis, Howard not so quietly instructing the older man to keep an eye on her as they strode inside. Bucky made to follow them when Howard turning and holding up a hand made him stop short, stomach twisting as he imagined the conversation he was about to have.

“Mister Barnes, I cannot apologize enough for her behavior or what she said.”

Bucky blinked stupidly for a moment before the words sank in and he shrugged carefully, the tug at his shoulder that had been getting progressively worse as he’d supported Tony in the pool yanking hard at the motion.

“It’s nothing I haven’t heard before, Mister Stark.”

Howard laughed for a moment before shoving a hand through his hair, biting down on his lower lip before speaking.

“I…You’re favoring your shoulder. Is it hurting?”

“A bit. It does sometimes, not a big deal.”

“I have a hot tub. I use it pretty often to work out any kinks. You could…join me, if you’d like?”

Bucky shifted, thinking of the best way to get out of this without looking like a coward when he noticed that Howard legitimately looked like he wished Bucky would accept, hands fisted loosely at his sides, posture straight. The idea of getting half naked in front of this amazingly attractive man turned Bucky’s stomach, but he knew, deep down, it was better to just get it over with now. If Howard got a good look at his scars later, once he’d gotten even more attached to the little chunker, leaving Tony would be much harder on Bucky.

“Sure. I’d, uh—“ Goddamnit, Barnes. You’re not a pre-teen girl! “Yeah, I’d like that. Would probably help.”

Howard visibly fought back a wide grin and nodded, leading Bucky around the corner to where an enclosed gazebo sat. They trotted up the few steps, Bucky marveling at the size of something that was usually fairly small in other people’s homes, if they had one at all. The hot tub sat off to one side, a huge thing that looked more like something from a space ship. Across the way from it were more lounge chairs, a towel sitting neatly folded on the end of each one. A bar ran the rest of the wall next to the chairs and straight across from the entrance hung a massive hammock, cloth lining the bottom and blankets and pillows neatly made up inside it.

He was instantly struck with the image of pulling Howard into it, pinning him under his body and rocking the damn thing with the force of his thrusts into the man. Bucky swore low as Howard pulled off his polo, dropping it carelessly onto a chair and turning to look at him curiously. Yeah, like seeing him half naked was fucking helping _anything_.

“It’s already heated, I had one of the maids do it when she cleaned out here today. If figured I’d need the break. Intuition, huh?”

Bucky made a small noise, turning to fiddle with the phone he’d snatched off the table he’d dropped it on out by the pool. From behind him there was a slight splash of water before Howard’s low moan drilled into his ears. Bucky gritted his teeth at the sound, his cock jerking in his trunks. This man was gonna fucking kill him.

“Are you coming in? It’s perfect, instant relaxation.”

_Yeah, tell that to my cock_ , Bucky thought sourly, taking a deep breath before slowly stripping his hoodie from his body and dropping it onto the chair atop his phone. He slowly made his way over to the hot tub and sank in on the opposite side. He couldn’t help the moan that boiled up from his own throat at the instant soothing of the warm water on his body. Bucky refrained from looking at Howard, relaxing back and letting his head fall backwards, resting on the edge of the tub. He didn’t want to see the man’s eyes linger on the charred and twisted skin, didn’t want to see the disgust and revulsion slowly enter his eyes.

Bucky jumped when, after about twenty minutes, a hand landed on his uninjured forearm, bringing his head up sharply. Howard was recoiling at the sharp movements, holding his hands up in front of him.

“Sorry, sorry!”

Bucky shook his head and sat up a little straighter, locking eyes with Howard.

“Naw, s’alright. What’s going on?”

Howard looked distinctly uncomfortable for a moment, shifting cautiously before he spoke up.

“Look, feel free to tell me to go fuck myself. Your answer won’t in any way affect your job here. But can I…can I touch it? Your arm?”

Bucky froze, staring back at the man in shock. Someone wanted to…voluntarily touch it? Was Howard fucking with him? He searched the man’s face for any indication he was just yanking Bucky’s chain, but instead he found only innocent curiosity. Swallowing back his pride and reminding himself that Howard was an engineer, he thrived on learning how things worked, he shakily nodded.

The billionaire drew in a breath before sliding over next to him. Bucky let his head fall back at the first touch to his arm that wasn’t a child or a medical professional, closing his eyes at the feeling of Howard’s gentle and soft fingertips running over scarred skin. The man was methodical, tracing a path from the tip of his shoulder down over the top of his forearm and hand, before gently turning his arm over and repeating the process in the reverse. To Bucky’s horror, the gentle touches on sensitive skin was hardening his cock further in his trunks, coiling lust deep in his stomach. For long minutes Bucky sat there, careful to even his breaths and not make any sudden movements, feeling much more like the predator than the prey.

Howard grasping his wrist once more brought his head around finally, in time to see Howard lift his hand and place a gentle kiss, so soft Bucky barely registered it upon the damaged skin, in the middle of his palm. A rough sound slipped from his mouth at the action, Howard looking up sharply and flushing slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Howard dropped Bucky’s hand and went to shift away. “I crossed a line, I know it. I apologize, I just—“

Bucky reached out instinctively, grabbing a hold of Howard’s bicep and pulling the man to a stop.

“You just what?”

“Just wanted to show you…you’re not a freak. Not deformed. To me, Mister Barnes, you are…beautiful in your damage.”

The air between them changed at the words, becoming thicker and hotter, charged with some underlying tone Bucky wasn’t too keen to think awful hard about. He licked his lips, Howard’s eyes tracing the motion as he slid slightly closer, Bucky’s damaged fingers still grasping onto his bicep.

“Mister Stark, I….ah…”

“Howard.”

“Mmm? What?” Bucky blinked at the man, swallowing hard at his breathy tone. Where in the hell had the screaming son of a bitch from the pool side gone?

“Howard. My name is Howard. I’d like to hear you say it.”

Bucky leveled a look at him, unsure if he was kidding or not, but all get got in return was a heavy lidded stare, Howard moving in close so their thighs were brushing.

“Alright. Howard. That is…probably the best thing anyone’s ever said since that fucking accident.”

“Mmmm. More’s the pity for the idiots that couldn’t see just what it means.”

“Means?”

Howard traced a slow finger down his arm, hitting sensitive and dead patches in a random pattern that had Bucky biting back a growl at the way the sensations went straight to his cock.

“You’re a survivor, Mister Barnes. A living, breathing example that human beings can go through hell and come out of the flames. You are…breath-taking.”

Bucky bit down on his lip at the words, a warmth spreading in his chest. Somehow the words meant more coming from Howard than from Steve or Peggy. He almost swallowed his next words, aware at this point they had told the line that divided personal and professional behavior to go fuck itself, but spit them out anyways.

“No. No more Mister Barnes. Fair is fair.”

Howard shot him an amused smile, something dark and dangerous hiding behind his eyes.

“Alright, fair is fair. What should I call you?”

_Master, sir, Daddy, take your fucking pick as long as you’re moaning it out while my cock’s inside you_.

Bucky viciously stomped down on his inner voice, thinking it over before answering. Bucky was his name, but it was a name for a soldier. Something called across barracks in friendly joking. He didn’t want this to be friendly. Not in the slightest. But there was always wiggle room…

“James. Or Bucky.”

Howard chuckled, moving just the slightest bit closer, until Bucky could smell the faint scent of cigar still on his breath.

“Which one is it then? Bucky…or James?”

“Bucky around other people. James….when I do things like this.”

Bucky reached up and slid his fingers into Howard’s dark locks, yanking him closer. He filed away Howard’s soft moan at the tug for later, grinning slightly. They were inches from one another when the soft clearing of a throat had them springing apart like teenagers caught necking at the school dance. Jarvis stood in the doorway of the gazebo, his head slightly inclined so he was staring at the floor rather than at the two of them. Bucky could swear he saw a slight curl to the corners of the butler’s mouth, and would bet true money that was amusement lacing his tone as he spoke.

“Mister Stark, Mister Barnes, I’ve come to inform you dinner is served and young Tony seems to be getting restless.”

Howard nodded sharply, the man exiting quickly at the motion. They avoided looking at each other as they got out and dried off, wrapping the towels around themselves. Bucky followed Howard into the house, starting off towards his room to beat himself up over how fucking stupid he was to try something like that when Howard’s voice stopped him.

“Bucky. I…I meant what I said. About what I think of you.”

Bucky turned his head slightly to see Howard standing there, shoulders curled defensively, his whole posture that of someone preparing to be laughed at.

“Howard,” he tossed over his shoulder as he strode away, mouth curling into a smile. “I meant what I was going to do. Give me time and I’ll show you _exactly_ what I think of you.”

 


	4. Howard Stark and the Horror Scare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Howard and Bucky reach a new level in their relationship, Maria Stark is a not a good mother, and it's a good thing Bucky has great insurance because these Starks are gonna kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo much happens in this chapter. God. Not as much as what happens in the next, but regardless, I hope you guys enjoy! And as always, let me know if there's something you wanna see these guys do :D

“You seem to be settling in here nicely.”

Bucky glanced up from where he was cleaning up the remnants of his dinner, grinning at Jarvis. He’d decided to eat dinner in the kitchen with Jarvis for the night, as Howard had been up in his office since noon and after sitting for months in an empty hospital room, Bucky hated the idea of eating alone.

“Hey, settling in a mansion ain’t something anyone should have a problem with.”

Jarvis gifted him a small smile and ran his towel along the counter, moving out of the way for Bucky to place his dishes in the sink.

“I suppose not.”

“Alright, Jarvis,” Bucky crossed his arms and propped a hip against the counter. “Out with it.”

“Out with what, sir?”

“You want to say something, what is it?”

“Merely that Tony and Mister Stark seem all the better for your presence.”

Bucky scrubbed a hand through his hair and bit back a grin. Jarvis had a point. Even though he’d only been here about two weeks now, even Howard seemed in a better mood than he’d been in the first time they’d met. Tony was a really happy baby now that the teething stage had passed, though Howard had commented on just how much Bucky’s presence had changed his attitude even while teething.

“Yeah, well, what can I say? I’m a ray of sunshine.”

“Indeed, sir. I always do notice a change in the room with your presence.”

Bucky snorted and rolled his eyes at the man’s sarcasm, giving him a grin. Jarvis was quickly becoming a friend in the household, Bucky wasn’t ashamed to say he had a soft spot for the sarcastic old guy.

“Do you have any plans for your first weekend off the clock?” Jarvis asked, and Bucky blew out a breath, confronted with the problem he’d faced since he’d dropped Tony off with Maria that afternoon for her visitation.

“Not really. I mean, my whole life centers around the little guy. Miss him already, actually. So…what do you suggest?”

“If I may be so bold, Mister Stark generally takes his coffee and cigar in the library around this time. You could deliver it to him and….see what develops from there.”

Bucky shot the man a grin, taking the tray he held out.

“I see how it is, make someone else do your job.”

“I wouldn’t want you to get bored.” Jarvis quipped, and Buck huffed out a laugh, turning and making his way towards Howard’s office.

The tension between them had grown since their almost kiss in the hot tub that night, and yet it hadn’t progressed. They still hadn’t even kissed and apart from Bucky catching Howard staring a few times in the past weeks, the man had made no comment on the subject. Maybe it was just a fluke? Maybe Howard really did pity him and that night had just wanted to make him feel better about himself?

Bucky shook the thoughts away, balancing the tray on his injured hand and pushing the door open, knocking gently.

“Yes? Come in.”

At Howard’s voice, Bucky stepped inside the room, holding the tray up in the air.

“Coffee and cigar, Mister Stark.”

Howard grinned and him and tugged the glasses he occasionally used to read fine print from his face, laying them aside and ushering him in.

“I didn’t know you also doubled as a butler, Bucky.”

“Hey, people do crazy things when they’re bored.”

Bucky strode to the small table off to the side, setting the tray down and turning. He jumped at Howard suddenly so close, the man apparently having moved from behind the desk to behind _him_ in the short time he’d had his back turned. Howard flushed at the movement, tugging at his tie.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, no, it’s…fine. I’ve been falling out of practice, into complacency. I need someone to sneak up on me every now and then, remind me to be more vigilant.”

Howard gave him a small smile, just the barest upturn of his lips and Bucky sighed, the expression on his face telling him the billionaire had more than coffee on his mind.

“What?”

“We need to…talk about this thing between us.”

_You mean my raging erection? I totally agree._

Bucky growled at his subconscious thought and nodded, leaning back against the table and crossing his arms. Howard ran his fingers through his hair before looking up at him, stepping closer until they were so close the slightest sway would have them in full body contact.

“So talk.”

“I…want you. I think that’s obvious. But you’re Tony’s nanny. And that creates an issue.”

“I’m not the nanny right now.” Bucky pointed out and Howard looked shocked for a moment before gnawing on his lower lip and grinning outright at him.

“No, I suppose you’re not. So then, for now….would you be open to the idea of pursuing this? Only when you’re not his nanny?”

Bucky bit back a laugh at the question, resisting the urge to roll his eyes along with it. Was Howard really suggesting that after they got a taste of each other they’d be able to keep it to a couple weekends a month? Regardless of his own disbelief, he shrugged and nodded.

Hey, a little was more than nothing, right?

“Sounds fine to me. So then…when do we start?”

“You’re not a nanny right now, as you pointed out.” Howard said and Bucky outright grinned, pulling the man closer by his tie, erasing the space between their bodies and groaning at the press of Howard’s cock into his thigh.

“Then let’s get started.” He ground out before tugging Howard up into a kiss, sliding his free hand into Howard’s hair and wincing slightly when the rough skin caught on his hair.

Jesus. He’d heard of seeing fireworks when you kissed someone but this was…flames. Like walking into an inferno and it had Bucky moaning into the kiss, tightening his grip to guide Howard’s head to the side and deepen it. The engineer echoed his noise, grasping at Bucky’s shirt and arching hard into him.

Bucky started moving him backwards, mindless of what he was heading towards, only hoping to hit a horizontal surface. Sure enough, Howard moved against him before boosting himself up, Bucky glancing down when their lips separated for a moment to see Howard was sitting on his desk, before the man reached out and grabbed handfuls of his shirt, yanking him back into the kiss. Bucky felt like a teenager again, groping and rutting against the man like he was in heat, not that Howard was complaining though.

Or at least that’s what Bucky assumed, hearing those adorably slutty little moans he kept making with every buck of his hips.

He had just spread the billionaire out below him and was working on sucking a mark into his throat under the collar of his shirt when Howard’s phone went off, the man stiffening under him.

“Lemme guess, you gotta get that?” Bucky breathed into his skin, Howard nodding sharply before fumbling over to the side.

Bucky levered himself up onto his hands, hovering over Howard as the man jammed his finger onto the screen and answered it, mouthing an apology to him. He was about to mouth an answer back when the voice screaming through the phone, so loudly he could hear it clearly, registered and he stiffened.

“Howard! There’s something wrong with Tony!”

Howard sat upright like he’d been struck by lightning, Bucky moving back quickly as he yanked the phone away and hit the speakerphone, shooting Bucky a concerned look.

“What do you mean ‘wrong’?!”

“He keeps vomiting and has a rash all over him!”

“WHAT?!” Howard roared, jumping off the desk as Bucky felt an anchor settle his stomach. Motherfucker…there was no way. “What did you do to him?!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

Without thinking, Bucky reached out and snatched the phone away from Howard, ignoring the man’s startled look as his heart raced.

“What did you feed him? Did you feed him anything new?!”

“I hardly see how that’s any of your—“

“Answer the fucking question, Maria!” Howard snapped, taking the phone back as Bucky ran through the list of allergic reactions he’d seen, his heart dropping with her next words.

“I just gave him a few bites of my clam chowder! Only the sauce! I know he’s not allergic, he’s had strawberries!”

“They’re not the same thing!” Bucky yelled, his fury at her sheer ignorance over-riding any sense of decorum he would have had. “You need to take him to the ER. Now! He’s having an allergic reaction!”

“How am I supposed to know where the ER is?!”

Bucky goggled at the phone, struck stupid by the sheer idiocy of the words as Howard turned the most…interesting shade of purple.

“Just call 911! We’ll meet you at the hospital!” He snapped, ending the call and staring at Bucky, a helpless look sliding onto his face.

“Tony’s…never had so much as the flu. James, I—“

“I got it. We’ll fix this.” Bucky swore, ushering Howard out of the room and yanking his car keys from his pocket.

And just when he thought things were settling down.

**************************

Bucky followed Howard through the ER, keeping pace right behind the billionaire as he stomped towards the private room Tony had been put in. Flinging the door open, Bucky only nearly avoiding getting hit in the face, Howard strode inside, Bucky following a bit more sedately, closing the door quietly. Turning, he felt his heart fall at the sight of Tony hooked up to the machines measuring heart rate and respiration, the blood pressure cuff and IV making his tiny arms seem even smaller by comparison.

Yet the boy was sitting up and babbled happily upon seeing them, reaching out towards Howard as the man moved to perch on the side of the bed, gathering him up in his arms. He nuzzled the Tony’s fuzzy hair as Bucky shifted under the force of Maria’s glare, locked onto him the moment he stepped into the room. She was perfectly made up, more so than Bucky probably was in his wrinkled hoodie and jeans, and stood with her hands planted on her hips.

“What have the doctor’s said?” Howard asked, turning to her with a glare that even she wavered under.

“No one has given us a definite answer yet. They gave him some sort of medicine and told me they’d be back with a definite diagnosis. Stop looking at me like this is my fault, Howard!”

“It is your fault!” Howard ranted, Bucky tuning the arguing adults out as he knelt in front of Tony and waggled his fingers, letting the boy grab hold and giggle.

Soon he realized everyone’s attention was on him and Bucky double checked that his arm was completely covered before looking up, blinking at the two.

“What?”

“I hardly think the nanny being here is necessary, Howard.” Maria said, her voice cold enough to ice the walls as she fluffed her hair absently.

Howard looked ready to snap when Bucky stood and held up his hands.

“Hey, she’s got a point. Besides, there’s a limit on visitors for the ER. I’ll head home, let Jarvis know what’s going on.”

Howard blew out a breath before nodding, setting Tony a little higher on his lap and leaning down to talk to him.

“Alright. If you insist. Tony, say bye to Bucky, he has to go home now.”

“Buh!” Tony babbled, holding a hand out towards him.

Bucky grinned and shook it before inclining his head and starting out the door. It sucked, but he was _just_ the nanny. He had no place in the ER, as much as he hated admitting Maria was right about anything, and Tony would survive without him.

Howard’s voice stopped him as his hand hit the door handle, bringing his head back around.

“Tony. Tony, stop—Tony, stop wiggling, you’re going to tear out your IV!”

“Buh! Buh buh buh buh buh!” Tony was babbling frantically, reaching out for him, his whole face crumpled.

Bucky turned slowly, heart jumping for the second time tonight. There was no way….Maybe Bucky was just hearing wrong.

“Yeah, that’s right, chunky monkey. Bucky’s gotta go buh. I’ll see you at home though, okay?”

“Buh!” Tony screamed, Howard standing and depositing him on the bed, running fingers through his hair.

“Page the nurse, there’s something wrong!”

Bucky swallowed hard, the idea that had taken root growing as Tony tried to make his way towards him, hand outstretched, tipping over without the balance.

“Buuuuh!” He cried, Howard’s face lighting with understanding, and a bit of shock, as he looked at Bucky.

The soldier tentatively took a few steps towards the boy, exhaling hard when Tony flipped onto his stomach and grinned up at him.

“Buh!”

Buh…..was not bye.

“Buh….for Bucky.” Howard murmured quietly, scrubbing a hand across his mouth as he looked at Bucky with a gobsmacked expression. “His first word…for you.”

Maria’s outraged gasp was distant over the blood rushing through Bucky’s ears as he knelt at the end of the bed, locking eyes with Tony who was now grinning at him, keeping himself pushed up onto his hands and knees.

“Buh? Is that me, buddy?” He asked quietly, licking his lips and completely focused on Tony, blocking out Maria yanking Howard aside and talking with him furiously.

“Buh!” Tony exclaimed happily, reaching out towards him and huffing when he flopped onto his face once more.

The door slamming shut jerked him from the moment, Tony starting and whining at the loud noise. Bucky moved to scoop him up, settling on the bed before looking up to see Maria had left and Howard was standing there, rubbing at his temples.

“She had somewhere to be?”

“I assume. She didn’t seem too happy about Tony’s first word.” Howard said, coming to sit on the bed next to them and let Tony grasp his finger, shaking his hand about gently.

“And…how about you? How do you feel about it?” Bucky asked nervously, shifting on the bed.

In his experience, first words were a big freaking deal, and he could see this easily being the reason he gets canned. Some of the other nannies in the park had warned him about getting too close to the kids, talked about how many people got fired if the kids started to favor them over the parents. It just hadn’t seemed to be something Bucky should worry about.

Until now, of course.

Howard sat silent for a moment, stroking a thumb over Tony’s hand and smiling at the boy’s coo.  Finally, he looked up at Bucky, the tension between them tightening at his look.

“I love it. Tony obviously loves you. You’re…the first good decision I’ve ever made for him.”

Bucky blew out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, grinning back at the man. Looks like he wasn’t going to be out on his ass just yet.

*****************************

Weeks later, after everything had resettled at the house—and Maria and Howard had come to a very **loud** agreement upon Tony’s stays at her home—Bucky found himself yet again stuck as to what to do, having dropped Tony off at his mother’s. The boy had turned out to just have a shellfish allergy and as long as Maria didn’t do anything stupid, they didn’t have much reason to worry.

For lack of anything better, and Howard being off at work still, he made his way out to the pool, Jarvis assuring him he would have no surprise visitors this time around. Bucky set his stuff to the side, stacking it on the towel he’d brought with him, and stripped from his shirt, settling on the lounge chair. The sun was warm on his skin and he stretched with a groan, letting himself relax in its rays.

He must have fallen into a light doze because the sudden feeling of a slow finger tracing its way down his chest made him surface from the sleep, smiling softly.

“Mmm, keep going like that and you’ll be calling me James in a few minutes.”

“Oh, darling, you know how much I would enjoy that.”

Bucky sat upright at Peggy’s teasing voice, ripping his sunglasses from his face and glaring at the woman perched on the end of his chair.

“Damnit, Peggy! Don’t sneak up on me!”

“Sorry, you just looked so delectable, I could barely resist.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at her teasing and flexed playfully, shooting her a smirk.

“Yeah? Like what you see, sweetheart?”

Peggy laughed and threw herself atop him, Bucky wrapping his arms around the woman to hold her close. Peggy was the only person, aside from Steve, who didn’t flinch at his scars. Granted, they’d never taken Howard’s approach to actively touching them and even complimenting him on them but it was still nice. He reached down and dug his fingers into her ribs, grinning broadly when she shrieked and wiggled against his hold. Bucky struggled with her for a moment until deciding to let her win, allowing Peggy to straddle his stomach and pin his hands to his chest.

“James Barnes, you utter wanker! You _know_ how I hate that!”

“Hey, it got you wiggling and squirming against me, I can’t say I regret it too much.” He teased, laughing when she scowled and smacked at his chest with a muttered ‘pervert’.

They tussled for a few more moments, Peggy doing her best to whack him in the head, when someone clearing their throat had Bucky freezing, Peggy finally succeeding in her attempts.

“Am I interrupting something private?”

Bucky whipped his head around to see Howard standing there, looking absolutely delicious in his suit, with a thunderous expression on his face, hands clenched lightly at his sides. He bit back a self-satisfied grin at the jealousy written on Howard’s face, shaking his head and helping Peggy up off him.

“Not at all. Just some old friends playing around. How was work?”

“Fine. It was work. How did dropping off Tony go?”

“Not bad. She glared at me the entire time but that’s nothing new.”

“Mmmm, that’s her. James, could you come here?”

Bucky frowned at the use of his real name, shoving himself to his feet and padding over to the older man, quirking a brow at him. Once he was within a foot or so Howard reached out and cupped his jaw, pushing up onto his toes to pull him into a kiss that had Bucky gasping against his mouth. After he recovered from his surprise he grinned into it at Howard’s actions, sliding his hands around the man’s waist and tugging him close, keeping their mouths connected until he had to pull away for air.

Seems his little billionaire had a jealous streak then.

“Well, you two seem to be getting along smashingly.”

Bucky turned to shoot Peggy a grin, Howard clearing his throat and smiling at her, the tilt of his lips still a little sharp even after the kiss.

“I do owe you quite a bit for suggesting him, Peggy. How does a car sound?”

Peggy’s laugh broke the tension, sending them all into chuckles as Bucky turned to face the woman, keeping an arm around Howard’s waist and letting the man snuggle into the side of his body.

“Sounds fantastic. But I’ll settle for dinner, at the moment.”

Howard inclined his head, smiling up at Bucky.

“Sounds fair, I suppose. Bucky, the people are here to do the pool maintenance. I wanted to catch you before I let them come back here.”

Bucky felt a smile tug at his lips at Howard’s thoughtfulness, planting a kiss on his forehead as thanks before following him into the house, seeing Peggy grab his things and trail behind them. Once in the cool of the home, Bucky shivered and pulled his shirt back on, wagging his eyebrows at Peggy’s look to his stomach.

“Hey, look all you want sweetheart. If us playing gets me a kiss like that, wonder what you licking will do?”

“Cause your boss to throw something at your head.” 


	5. Tiny Tony and the Terror Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A malicious trap is discovered, Bucky chats with an old lover, and Howard is forced to deal with something he finds...distasteful. And all because Tiny Tony loves to swim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! A plot that doesn't involve fluff! And a backstory for Bucky! (A little bit at least). I hope you guys enjoy!

“Good morning everyone!”

Bucky glanced up with a grin as Howard swept into the room, dressed down for the day in a polo and pinstriped shorts. He spooned another bite of food into Tony’s mouth from the second jar of the morning, chuckling at the boy’s squeal when Howard crossed to press a kiss to his head before settling across from Bucky. He quirked a brow at Howard’s exuberant nature. Yes, last night had been fun, even better once Maria had called him and told him she had things to do early this morning and that he needed to come get Tony early, but nothing was a big red flag for why Howard would be so damn happy.

“You’re awful cheery.” He remarked, giving Tony another bite that the boy promptly spit out on a raspberry, causing Bucky to roll his eyes and set the food aside, giving him the spoon to swing around.

“I am. I decided to take the day off. I thought we could take Tony into the pool today since we haven’t really had a chance to do it together.”

Bucky bit back the urge to mumble about other things he and Howard hadn’t done together before grinning and nodding at the man, quickly finishing off his breakfast. He played along with Tony while Howard finished his own, laughing at the boy’s attempts to shove the spoon up his nose. When Howard finally cleared his throat and tossed his napkin down on the table, Bucky unbuckled Tony from his seat and lifted him up after setting the tray aside.

Howard made the motion to take him but Bucky shook his head, gently prying the spoon away once Tony tried to stick it in his ear for a third time.

“Go get yourself ready. I’m the nanny, I’ll get the chunkey monkey ready.”

Howard shifted his weight for a moment before nodding, sticking his hands in his pockets and staying put as Bucky turned to leave the room. His voice caught Bucky at the archway into the hall and the soldier turned, hiking Tony a bit higher.

“Bucky…would you…don’t wear a shirt?”

Bucky arched a brow at the man’s flushed face, shooting him a disbelieving look.

“I thought when Tony was here I was only the nanny.”

“Yeah, well…everyone enjoys window shopping, right?”

Bucky burst out laughing at Howard’s flippant tone, nodding and agreeing before striding off, Tony squealing at the motions of his shaking chest. He made his way to his room, flopping Tony down on the bed and barricading him in, quickly changing into his trunks and pulling on a white shirt. He scooped up the little guy and trudged to Tony’s room, nudging the door open with his hip and chuckling as Tony patted at his burnt skin. The kid had an obsession with touching it, rubbing his face against it, attempting to gnaw on his fingers. He was slowly making Bucky a little less self-conscious about it, at least within the house.

Of course, Howard stroking his fingers over it didn’t hurt his self-esteem by any means.

Bucky finally wriggled Tony into his swimming diapers, trunks, and the life jacket, picking him up and starting towards the pool. He bit back a groan when he exited the house in time to see Howard bend over to put his phone down on a lounge chair. God, the only thing that stopped him from striding over and grinding his cock into Howard’s perfect ass was the fact that Tony was there.

That didn’t stop his mouth though.

“Mmm, can you do that next time I’m not the nanny?”

Howard straightened and shot a grin over his shoulder, stripping off his shirt with a move that had all the muscles in his back rippling. Bucky didn’t hide his moan this time around, letting it spill out of his mouth when Howard turned, tossing his shirt over his shoulder.

“What? Bend over for you?”

“Yeah.” Bucky breathed out, hitching Tony a little bit higher as Howard came closer, reaching out a hand to brush it against his son’s hair and shoot Bucky a wink.

“Guess you’ll find out next time you’re not a nanny.”

Bucky groaned and let his head fall back as Howard laughed and took Tony from him. He brought his head back up and glanced towards the pool as he pulled his shirt over his head. Bucky stiffened at the sight of the water. Something was…wrong.

“Howard, stop!”

The man froze in his tracks, a few feet from the steps of the pool, turning to blink at him. Bucky jogged over to where he was, watching the water the whole way. Something seemed off, something more than the slightly chemical smell in the air. He expected that, a chemical smell was normal after a pool cleaning. But this was….

Bucky planted his hands on his hips and shook his head, glancing over at Howard and Tony. The little guy was straining towards the water, huffing and puffing when Howard didn’t release him into it.

“What’s wrong, Bucky?”

“Something’s off with the water. Can’t you smell that in the air? Is it normally like this after the pool guys come?”

Howard frowned and studied the water closely, handing Tony over to kneel down by the front step and sniffing delicately. Bucky’s heart clenched when Howard made a soft noise of surprise, standing and practically running towards where he’d left his shirt. He knew it….he fucking knew something was up. Howard came back with the shirt in hand and waved him backwards, bracing himself on one foot and leaning over to dip the edge of the shirt in the pool.

Bucky frowned and stepped a bit further back with Tony, who’d gone quiet when Bucky offered up his hand, choosing to chew on his fingers instead, watching his dad with wide eyes. Howard drew the shirt out and Bucky inhaled sharply at the holes littering the fabric.

“What the hell?” He breathed out, Howard letting the shirt fall back into the water with a snarl and turning on them.

“There’s fucking _acid_ in there! Those incompetent assholes put too much _acid_ in my fucking pool! If I’d have gotten in there—if **Tony** had gotten in there—we’d have come out—“

“Looking like me.” Bucky finished grimly, Howard’s lips thinning into a white line before he nodded sharply.

The billionaire shoved a hand through his hair and practically growled, pacing for a moment before whirling around.

“Take Tony inside and stay there. I’m going to call the company and figure out how the fuck this happened.”

Bucky gritted his teeth at the order before firmly reminding himself he was the nanny and Howard was his boss, no matter how much flirtation happened between them. He nodded and strode away from the pool, pausing to scoop up his shirt and pull it on as best he could with Tony clinging to him and straining towards the pool.

“Sorry, buddy, but no pool for us today.”

“Buh!” Tony protested, smacking a hand into his face and grabbing a hold of his lower lip.

Bucky rolled his eyes at the antics and nipped gently at Tony’s fingers, turning the boy’s frown into a grin as he squealed. It became a game as Bucky made his way back to his room, Tony shoving his fingers in Bucky’s mouth and trying to yank them away before Bucky closed his teeth over them. By the time they actually stepped through Bucky’s door, the boy was laughing so hard his face was bright red, nuzzling his head into Bucky’s shoulder and leaving a hand against the side of his face.

A noise made Bucky glance away from the boy and he furrowed his brows at the Skype call ringing through on his computer. Making his way over, he plopped down and accepted it without looking at the caller, distracted by the fact that Tony had gotten a hold of a lock of hair at the base of his neck and was trying to forcibly remove it.

“Uhhh…Bucky?”

His head snapped up at the tone, Tony twisting around in his lap to squeal ‘Buh!’ and glance at the screen. Steve was on the other side, the screen flickering in and out of focus, no doubt due to the connection where he was, looking like someone’d nailed him in the ass with a two-by-four. Bucky grinned and scrubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand.

Which, of course, Tony instantly grabbed onto, shoving Bucky’s finger into his mouth and gnawing on it.

Bucky winced at the pinch of a tooth and moved his hand to the other side of Tony’s mouth, grinning at his friend.

“Steve! Hey, how’s life?”

“Uh, good. Normal things, you know. Who…did you…you’ve only been gone a couple months right?”

Bucky rolled his eyes and shifted Tony so the boy sat straighter on his lap, flipping Steve off.

“The kids not mine, jackass. I’m…er…well, long story short; Peggy got me a job post discharge. Nanny for one Howard Stark.”

“Howard Stark? The weapons contractor? The asshole?”

Bucky frowned at Steve’s tone and words. His placid friend wasn’t one for insulting others, and tended to have a pretty good rapport with everyone. That he reacted like that to Howard’s name…

“Yeah, that’s him. How in the hell do you know him?”

“He did some work for us back in the day. He’s an arrogant ass.”

“He’s a good guy, Steve.” Bucky argued, Steve groaning and dropping his head into his hands to rub his palms into his eyes.

“Bucky, please don’t tell me you like this guy.”

“I don’t…dislike him. Look, he’s my boss, Steve. What do you want me to say?”

Steve raised his head and nailed him with a hard look, those baby blues just the same intensity they always had been, not distorted by the crappy connection or space between them.

“I want you to say you’re not fucking around with that guy.”

“I’m not fucking that guy.”

 _Yet, anyways_.

Steve shook his head and growled, his jaw tightening as he clenched his teeth.

“That’s not what I asked for, Bucky.”

Bucky blew out a frustrated breath and raked a hand through his hair, pinning Steve with a glare.

“Look, Rogers, here’s the deal. I love you, you know that. But you need to stop this protective shit, dig? I’m a big boy, I can make my own decisions.”

“Bucky, it’s not about that and you know it. I just…Howard Stark was notorious for love ‘em and leave ‘em even on the army base. Now maybe,” Steve held up his hands in surrender. “Maybe he’s changed since he had a kid and got married. I don’t know. But I don’t want you hurt because he wants a quick fuck and you’re hoping for more.”

“Like it was with you?” Bucky shot back venomously, Steve’s face falling as he hunched forward and scrubbed a palm over his mouth.

“Bucky, no. That’s not what—“

“That’s _exactly_ what this is about, Steve. You told me you didn’t see any possible way we could be any more than best friends who occasionally got naked together.”

“Because we were in the Army! And Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell being repealed doesn’t mean shit in the middle of the barracks when the commanding officers ignore any screams.”

“So what?” Bucky shouted, his temper finally spilling over, Tony gripping onto his fingers harder. “Now that I’m some fucking invalid and I’m out of the Army you wanna try again? I can take care of myself, Steve, don’t forget I did it for **both** of us growing up.”

“Not now! Not since you’ve been injured!” Steve hollered back, slamming a fist onto the table he was sitting at that had the entire camera shaking.

Bucky leaned back in his chair, the fight seeping out of him at the words. Steve….didn’t think he could defend himself. Thought he was just as helpless as every other fucking person who’d seen the words ‘medical discharge’ and looked at him like he was a puppy that got left out in the rain. Tony turned in his arms and started crawling his way up Bucky’s body, ending the attempts when he was staring into Bucky’s eyes. He patted at his cheeks and bussed their mouths together before twisting and turning himself to stare into the computer.

Bucky wasn’t really sure what he expected, Tony wasn’t too open around strangers after all. Maybe to whine at Steve and hide once he noticed he’d been seen. What he _didn’t_ expect, however, was that after Steve raised a hand and said a sheepish hello for the boy to launch into a tirade of noise, blowing raspberries and shaking his hands at the screen and screaming out his mangled version of Bucky’s name every so often. Steve obviously wasn’t expecting it either, going by the gobsmacked expression on his face. Bucky burst out laughing, cuddling Tony into his chest, the boy stopping his rant to twist and twine his fingers in Bucky’s hair, clinging like a limpet. Steve nervously chuckled as well, biting his lip and glancing at Bucky with that same sheepish expression he’d worn the first time they ever screwed.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too, man. I gotta stop being sensitive about it. You’re just being you.”

“Hey, you love me.” Steve grinned wide, flashing those perfect white teeth.

“Shaddup. I’m still a crack shot, I’ll shoot you.”

Steve laughed once more before glancing off the screen and cursing quietly, looking back at the camera.

“Alright, Buck. I gotta go. But I’ll be out on leave in a couple of weeks, we’ll see each other then?”

Bucky nodded and hefted Tony in his arms, taking the boys tiny hand and waving it at the screen.

“Say ‘we’ll see you then, Steve!’”

Tony screeched and giggled, Steve laughing alongside him as he waved back before his face smoothed out once more.

“I love you, Buck.”

“I love you too, punk. Shoot me a message whenever you can.”

Steve nodded sharply before cutting the connection, Tony frowning and leaning out towards the computer with a disappointed noise. Bucky pulled him back and stood, turning and freezing in his tracks, Tony twisting with a grin.

“Howard.”

The billionaire was leaning against the frame of the door, face shrouded and arms crossed over a new shirt, his whole body closed off.

“Bucky. Please tell me that wasn’t your boyfriend?”

“Uh, no. No, Steve’s my best friend. Been that since we were kids. How…long have you been there?”

“Only for the last couple of minutes. Look, Bucky, if you don’t want anything more than a professional relationship, that’s fine. I in no way expect anything else of you.”

“No!” Bucky protested, wincing when his inattention meant Tony got the tooth into his finger. “No, Howard, I do. God, you have no idea how much I want you. Steve is…well, my best friend, but we used to be lovers.”

“Seems like he’s inclined to be more now that you’re discharged.”

“And I’m not. It faded for me once he told me it wasn’t going to happen.”

Howard seemed unconvinced but he nodded regardless. Bucky wanted nothing more than to pin him against the door and tongue-fuck his mouth until he was just a squirming mess of whimpering billionaire, but with Tony here that just wasn’t an option.

“So, what did you find out about the pool?” Bucky asked, the quirk of Howard’s lips telling him the sudden subject change didn’t go unnoticed.

“They have to call me back. _Apparently_ there’s no record of the men matching the description I gave on their employee records, in fact, there’s a note in the log that said I called and canceled the cleaning for the day.”

“You’re kidding? You think…this was malicious?”

Howard blew out a breath and scrubbed a hand through his hair, crossing to take Tony into his arms and rub their noses together.

“I don’t know. That’s my first assumption, but I haven’t pissed anyone off lately. And usually attempts on me are…well, on me. There’s never been an instance that Tony could have been injured as well.”

“Maybe they didn’t think he would be?” Bucky suggested, rubbing his hands over his mouth. “Maybe they assume Tony doesn’t swim?”

“No idea.” Howard sighed, smiling softly at Tony when the boy babbled at him and grabbed for his moustache. “But all it means now is that we can’t go swimming.”

Bucky crossed his arms and regarded the floor for a moment. He had an idea, one that had been rolling around in his head since he’d seen Tony’s frown at not being able to swim, but it would mean putting himself out in the world in a way he hadn’t since the accident. But for Tony…hell, he’d throw himself on another bomb to make Tony happy.

“We can still go swimming.”

Howard looked up from where he was nipping at Tony’s fingers with a frown.

“How so?”

“The public pool. It’s, what, a twenty minute drive from here?”

Howard’s face flushed for a moment before he cleared his throat and squeaked out.

“The…public pool? Where the public goes? Like…anyone that can afford the fee to get in?”

“Yes, Howard,” Bucky snapped, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at the man. Jesus, these rich people…

“The public pool where the public go. It’s not a sewage dump, they clean the damn thing.”

“But there are kids and people and…we could go to the country club! They have a pool!”

“No.” Bucky gestured to his arm with a sweeping motion. “Going out in public at all with this thing is hard for me. A public pool is pushing it but I want Tony to be happy. A country club? Forget it.”

“But…Bucky…please don’t make me do this.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at the man’s antics and lifted Tony from his arms, stomping from the room and tossing the next words over his shoulder.

“Get your shorts on and suck it up, Stark. Nobody’s gonna give a damn that you’re there.”


	6. Bucky Barnes and the Boyfriend Botheration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Howard Stark should not be allowed with the public and Maria Stark shouldn't be allowed in public at all. Also, Bucky and Howard define their relationship, make a crucial decision, and an roadblock to smooth sailing is brought about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooot! Sorry this took so long, my muse up and disappeared post IronMan AU completion. But I'm working on a (massive and hopefully surprising to the prompter) kink meme prompt for a new pairing I've only hinted at before and trying to get a few chapters of the Animal AU done before I post them. Besides all that, I hope you guys enjoy and laugh as much as I did while imagining all this :D

“Oh, ‘nobody’s gonna give a damn that you’re here’. Yeah. Barnes?”

Bucky grunted at Howard’s snide tone, not looking away from the table he was marching towards with determination.

“You’re fired.”

“Fine. You explain to Tony why Buh is gone.” Bucky snapped back, already over-taxed from the sheer amount of people surrounding them and the eyes trailing their movements.

It seemed like every damn person at the pool was staring at them and while Bucky was wearing a long sleeved swim top and his glove, he couldn’t help but try to hide his arm regardless. Howard bitching behind him the whole way wasn’t helping much of anything. He finally reached the table and slammed their stuff onto the center, claiming it as their own and plopping down on a lounge chair near it. Tony squealed in his arms and raised Bucky’s black mood a small bit, patting at his face and trying to look at everything at once.

“Oh! My god—is that woman—why is she….Bucky!”

Howard dove onto the lounge chair beside them, patting at Bucky’s arm and pointing discreetly across the area to where a—oh. Well…yeah. Bucky understood.

“Howard, shut up. She’s a senior citizen, she can wear whatever the hell she wants to wear.”

“My _underwear_ has more fabric.” Howard moaned, scooping Tony up and burying his face in his stomach like that would help erase the image.

Good luck. Bucky was pretty sure he was set with fuel to rid himself of any unwanted erections for at least the next couple of years.

“Look, let’s just get in the pool, alright?” He suggested, taking Tony back and pulling off the hat he’d shoved onto him, placing him on his lap before rummaging in the diaper bag for sunscreen.

Howard paled and glanced towards the kid’s area where there were at least ninety screaming children of all ages splashing around.

“What—What pool? Not that one?”

“Yes, that one.” Bucky said, rubbing the sunscreen into a wiggling Tony’s arms and legs, coating him everywhere.

“But—there’s another pool! And you can take babies into that one too, right?”

“Yes. You _can_. However, look at that pool, Howard.”

Bucky nodded pointedly to the direction of the adult pool, where there were just as many kids, as well as scantily dressed teens splashing one another and more than a few couples locking lips. Howard visibly shuddered and nodded, accepting his point and standing. He toed off his sandals and grabbed the hem of his shirt, stripping it off in a motion that had Bucky swallowing back drool and letting his eyes linger on the cut of muscles near Howard’s hips. He opened his mouth to say something when a sharp wolf whistle sounded out, Howard spinning and clutching his shirt to his chest like a Victorian maiden at the sight of the group of middle aged women eyeing him like he was a fresh cut of meat.

Bucky, in all reality, should have felt sorry for the man. And he would have…if he had been able to breathe past his laughter.

“Bucky!” Howard hissed, turning to nail him with a glare that Bucky shrugged off, hoisting Tony up onto his hip and heading towards the children’s pool.

Howard padded along behind them, so close that Bucky could feel the brush of the man’s shorts against his calves. He was a bit annoyed at the proximity, soldier’s didn’t tend to adore people hovering against their backs, but brushed it off as he waded into the water. Bucky neatly dodged the kids playing and splashing, reaching a small, shallower part of the water near the far shore where mothers with babies around Tony’s age had gathered. He offered up a small smile that they all returned, obligingly creating a place for him and Tony amongst the group.

Bucky finally lowered Tony into the water, bending at the waist and letting Tony sit on the bottom, holding him by the handles on the lifejacket. He laughed, as did a few of the mothers, at Tony’s squeals of delight as he smacked and kicked at the water, some of the other babies joining in on his screeches. Bucky blinked furiously when he felt Howard bump into his ass, head jerking up at the motion. He gritted his teeth and looked over his shoulder to see Howard pressed against him, looking around at everyone like they had leprosy. Bucky ignored it for the moment, until he glanced away again a few minutes later to see a girl at the edge of the area with her phone pointed directly at them, giggling with her friends.

Damnit…the last thing he needed was his face plastered across whatever social site or gossip rag she sold the images to. Bucky swung his head around so he was facing the other way and hissed over his shoulder at Howard, who was still pressed right up against the curve of Bucky’s ass.

“Howard. Am I the nanny right now?”

“W—What? Well, yes. Even if we’re not home, you’re still the nanny.”

“Then please stop grinding your cock into my ass.”

“But, Bucky!” Howard lowered his voice and—Jesus fucking Christ—leaned down over him to hiss into his ear. “There’s this woman behind me and she looks like she’s going to touch me and…and…she looks _sticky_.”

Alright, that’s it.

Bucky kept one hand on Tony, keeping him afloat, and straightened up. He grabbed ahold of Howard by his shoulder and yanked him close, lowering his voice with another glance at the girl who was still snapping pictures.

“Howard. Look, I get that you’re my boss and maybe I’m out of line, but look around. There’s people taking pictures. I don’t want my face plastered across some gossip mag as Howard Stark’s pool bunny. Nanny, I’m okay with. Even boyfriend. But not fucktoy Especially because we haven’t yet. Getting close is fine but stop grinding up on me like we’re teenagers in the back of a car because you’re giving everyone the wrong impression.”

Howard flushed but nodded, stepping a more respectable distance away. He kept at least six inches between them at all times, only hopping closer once when a kid was walking by, vomit dripping from his chin, crying. And really, Bucky understood that one.

They swam for a little while before Tony started fussing for food, Bucky dragging them back to the table and quickly changing him out of his swimming diaper and lifejacket before wrapping him in his cover-up. Howard shifted nervously next to the table as Bucky settled Tony in his lap and started spooning food into his mouth. Bucky shot him a look and arched a brow at his behavior.

“You got ants in your pants?”

“No! Shut up, Barnes. I can still fire you. No, I…are you hungry?”

Bucky shrugged, giving Tony another mouthful and wincing when his stomach rumbled at the idea of food.

“Alright, yeah, little bit. But I’ll grab something after Tony’s done.”

“No, that’s—you’re still on the clock. I’ll buy it for you.”

He glanced over to the line at the concession building, arching a brow at the large line of varied peoples. Bored teens and screaming kids and half-dressed parents stressed out because of said kids…

“You sure about that? Willing to brave the line for little old me?”

Howard straddled the bench next to him, scooting so close their knees brushed and his thighs were bracketing Bucky’s body. The soldier stiffened at the proximity, glancing around quickly and keeping the rhythm of Tony’s feeding as he hissed at Howard.

“What are you doing? What did I say in the pool?”

“Look,” Howard cleared his throat and shivered before shooting a glance over his shoulder at where the same group of wolf-whistlers were eyeing him. “I get that. I understand it. But I cannot get whistled at or stared at one more time. Plus…it’ll make it a little easier if people think I’m taken. I’ll give you a five hundred dollar bonus on your next check if you just give me a kiss. Just one. Just to get these people to stop and put it out there that I’m not single.”

“You’re not?” Bucky arched a brow at him, Howard frowning at him and tilting his head, biting down on his lower lip.

“No. I didn’t think so, at least. When I—Look, regardless of what people say, I’ve never cheated in a relationship. If I have the intention of dating someone, of being faithful, then I’m going to be faithful, period.”

Bucky swallowed hard at the words, his jaw tightening at the idea of getting paid to lock lips with his boss. He cracked his neck and gave Tony another spoonful to fill the silence, rolling the notion around in his head. It meant they would get a lot more scrutiny, but it also meant he could actually stake a claim. If they did go out again, and people ogled, Bucky would have already showed that Howard belonged to him. Yeah, in a way, it had irritated him that everyone was staring and he had no way to tell them to back off without seeming like an overprotective employee with an unrequited crush. And if it was something Howard wanted too…

“So, just for this once, we’ll do it while I’m the nanny?”

Howard nodded, a look of relief flashing across his face.

“Yes, please. Is that alright, Ja—“

“Don’t.” Bucky snapped, shaking his head and feeding Tony another spoonful, avoiding Howard’s hurt gaze. “Don’t call me that when I’m still the nanny. Don’t blur the lines more than we already are. And don’t pay me extra for this.”

Howard nodded and leaned in slightly, eyes shuttering slightly as his tongue swept out and wet his lips. Bucky braced Tony against his arm and reached up, cupping the man’s cheek to tug him into a gentle kiss, something at odds with the passion and rush of their past kisses. Howard opened his mouth, tongue darting out, huffing when they met the closed seam of Bucky’s lips. He’d kiss his boss in public, but he wasn’t about to sit here, make out with the man, and spring a hard-on while he had Tony in his lap.

They held the kiss for a long moment, long enough that Bucky knew for sure a good handful of people had gotten pictures, before Howard drew back with a soft smile curling the edges of his mouth.

“Thank you.”

Bucky cleared his throat and resisted the urge to say something stupidly romantic like ‘no, thank you’ or ‘pleasure’s all mine’. Instead, he inclined his head at the concession stand.

“Wanna thank me? Buy me food.”

Howard rolled his eyes and made his way over to the line, doing his level best to avoid even brushing against anyone else as he waited. Bucky rolled his eyes at the antics and leaned down to chat with Tony who was blowing bubbles and grinning at everyone that passed by.

“Your daddy’s out of his damn mind.” He told the kid frankly, chuckling when Tony screeched and promptly stuck his fingers into Bucky’s mouth.

He nipped at Tony’s fingers, playing the now familiar game for a long while until Howard appeared at his elbow, mounds of food in his arms that he quickly deposited onto the table. Bucky’s eyes widened at the sight of it all, wincing when he realized just how much all the food must have cost at the exorbitant prices places like this charged.

“I said I was hungry, Howard, not starving!”

“Yeah, well,” Howard settled on the bench once more and scooped up some cheese onto a chip, popping it into Bucky’s mouth. “What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn’t keep my lover well fed?”

Bucky chewed, swallowing quickly and glaring at the man. He was about to open his mouth and tell the man off when Howard leaned in, cupping his cheek and licking a small bit of cheese from the corner of his mouth. Bucky’s breath caught in his throat and he reared back, blinking at the man in confusion.

“More pictures?”

Howard shrugged and grinned at him, tearing open a bag of cotton candy and handing a piece of Tony.

“Nope. Just wanted to kiss my boyfriend.”

Bucky shook his head and leaned down to play with Tony, wishing he could go dunk his head in the water to cool his burning cheeks. Great, he’d created a monster.

***************************

On the way home, with Tony passed out in the back and Howard not much further from sleep in the passenger seat, Bucky groaned at the incoming call that rang through his hands-free. He tapped his hand to answer, shooting a glance at both Starks, Howard only rousing slightly, eyes slitting open at the ring of his phone.

“What, Peggy?”

“Don’t you ‘what’ me, James Barnes! I’m checking the news to see what’s new in the world, and suddenly I’m assaulted with pictures of you and Howard snogging at the pool! I thought you two were going to keep it under wraps?!”

Damnit, there were pictures out already. Fuckers were fast, that’s for sure.

“Peggy, look, we were. But Howard made a pretty good point about taking it public and I agreed. Backlash is backlash, it’ll happen. I’m not too concerned.”

Peggy blew a frustrated breath in his ear.

“Well, _I’m_ concerned, darling. What if Steve—“

“So what if Steve sees it?” Bucky snapped, Howard blinking awake at the harsh tone, reaching over to set a gentle hand on Bucky’s knee. “He and I were a maybe that never was save for a few quick fucks when we had time. I don’t give a damn what he thinks, Peggy.”

“James Buchanan, don’t you **dare** talk to me like that!” Peggy’s screech had him wincing as he turned into the mansion’s long drive, tempting him to turn his volume down. “I am merely concerned as your friend! You know how protective Steve can get and while I adore that man, do not think I won’t hesitate to shoot him should he pose a threat to Howard.”

Bucky stopped the car, waiting for the second gate to open and rubbing his palms into his eyes, groaning. Peggy had a point. Steve had become protective since Bucky’s injury, no longer the skinny, sick kid he used to be who needed Bucky’s defense. He had already shown his displeasure about them dating, if he got any pictures he was liable to fly off the handle.

“Look, I’ll take care of it alright? In the meantime, can you do me a favor?”

“Anything, darling.”

Bucky wanted to sigh as he started the slow descent to the house, glancing back at Tony.

“You’re good with clothes and I don’t want to drag Tony into a clothing shop. Pick me up some short sleeved shirts and I’ll pay you back?”

Peggy agreed, squealing something about him being comfortable around Howard before disconnecting with the excuse that she needed to get started on web-surfing for the correct styles. Bucky rolled his eyes at her excitement before scowling at the sight that met him as he pulled closer to the front of the house. Maria and some sharp dressed man were standing there, Jarvis blocking their way into the house at the bottom of the stairs.

“What in the fucking hell—“ Howard got out as soon as Bucky put the car in park, stalking towards them and leaving Bucky staring at his back, surprised at the random vulgarity from someone who usually went to pretty great lengths to avoid cursing around Tony.

Bucky slid from the seat, making his way around to grab the bags, handing them off to Jarvis who’d appeared at his elbow, detaching Tony’s carseat as he surreptitiously inclined his head towards the trio.

“What’s going on, Jar?”

“That is Miss Carbonell’s lawyer. She is claiming Mister Stark is an unfit parent and wants to file for full custody of young Anthony.”

“Is she outta her damn mind?” Bucky snarled, Jarvis shrugging and making his way back towards the house.

Bucky swore quietly when he realized there was no way in except right past the three who were now arguing loudly, Maria only about a foot from Howard’s face. He made his way up to them silently, hoping everyone was too busy with their arguing to notice him.

“Where do you think you’re going?! Let me see my son!”

Bucky rolled his eyes and obediently stopped his ascent of the stairs, making his way back down to where Maria was glaring at him. He held Tony up, wincing when Maria instantly reached for him and resisting the urge to yank him away.

“Maria!” Howard snapped, stepping up next to Bucky and glaring at her. “He had a long day and he’s exhausted. Let him sleep for god’s sake.”

Maria took her hands back and huffed, eyeing Bucky’s swim clothes and Howard’s with a disdainful look.

“A long day? Where in the world did you all go? You have a pool here. Unless…” A suspicious glint entered her eye, one that put Bucky’s teeth on edge. “Did something happen, Howard?”

Howard shifted and planted his hands on his hips, making a motion for Bucky to head inside. Bucky obeyed quickly, jogging up the stairs and doing his best to move quickly and keep Tony stable, distantly hearing Howard tell her there had been a mix-up at the pool company and the pool hadn’t been cleaned properly, making it un-usable.

Which…was a really nice way to say that someone had poured straight acid into your pool.

Bucky made his way upstairs, snagging a bottle of Tony’s purified water from Jarvis before doing so and setting Tony down in his room, stripping out of his clinging shirt. He picked Tony up from the carseat, handing him the bottle once he’d settled him in the crib in dry clothes and the boy started to whine. Bucky made a mental note to come back and collect the water once Tony had fallen asleep, leaning down to press a kiss to the boy’s forehead as his eyes started to drift closed.

He made his way back to his own room, turning on the monitor he’d snagged on the way and grinning at the sight of Tony already fast asleep, bottle lying at his side. Bucky froze in the doorway at the sight of Howard settled on the end of his bed, looking over a set of papers and holding his head in one hand.

“Everything alright?” He asked, tossing his shirt into the hamper and crossing to his dresser, acutely aware of Howard’s eyes on his back as he went.

“Yes, fine. Maria’s filing for full custody of Tony, which she isn’t going to get. It’s just going to be a nasty battle that I have to work into my already over-booked schedule.”

Howard groaned and set the papers aside, stretching out onto his back and covering his face with his hands. Bucky pulled on a tank top, figuring he’d find a better shirt later, and crossed to sit next to the man.

“Sorry. But, hey, I’ve got Tony. So that’s one thing off your appointment book, right?”

Howard answered by way of a grunt, his tone telling Bucky Tony really wasn’t something he _wanted_ off the book. He took his hands away and sat up, looking over at him.

“We should probably talk about our relationship.”

Bucky nodded, shifting to face him and exhaling quietly when Howard’s fingers began to absentmindedly trace patterns on the back of his scarred hand. Howard looked down when he realized, giving Bucky a sheepish look and stopping the movement, though he didn’t take his hand away.

“I…am not stellar at relationships, obviously. I demand a lot. I’m pushy and over-bearing and forgetful. But I’ll try. I’ll always try and I’ll be faithful. So if that sounds good, if that sounds nice—“

“It does. Just…be honest with me. If there’s ever a second you think this isn’t going to work or you don’t want me anymore, tell me and we’ll end it.” Howard nodded seriously, Bucky shooting him a grin to lighten the mood. “And I’m pretty damn sexual, I’m gonna want sex a **lot**.”

Howard barked out a laugh, nodding.

“I think I can be just fine with that. We’ll work up to it anyways, I’m still pretty steadfast on not wanting to screw around when you’re in your official capacity. At least not in that way.”

Bucky nodded, Howard settling back a bit and frowning.

“There is still the matter of the press. Now that they think we’re in a relationship, you’re going to get hounded. People will be fairly curious, asking questions, trying to get near you and Tony, get pictures and comments. You’re a soldier, I’m not worried about you being able to evade them or send them away. But they’ll ask personal questions. How long we’ve been screwing, if you were hired as a prostitute and you became the nanny, anything they can think of.”

Bucky scoffed at the idea, certain that he’d be able to get away from everyone and avoid any questions. But Howard looked concerned still so he offered up a small smile, nodding like an idiot and relaxing when Howard smiled back. The man shifted to lay his head on Bucky’s shoulder, something deep inside Bucky inherently pleased at the position, at the thought that Howard needed someone to lean on and chose him.

“’Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.’ This is the start of hell, Bucky.” Howard warned, Bucky laughing and pressing a quick kiss to the man’s still damp hair.

“We’ll get through it. Everything’s gonna be just fine, Howard.”


	7. Sick Babies are Serious Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky Barnes deals with Tony's first real bout of sickness, gets a little naughty during freetime, and finds a tiny bit of peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been super long and I'm so sorry! I went on vacation and wrote a ton but it all has to be edited like a mother before it's anywhere near ready lol regardless, this is ready to go so I hope you guys enjoy!

“Oh, God. Sound the alarms. Everything is _not_ okay!” Bucky winced when his jovial teasing made Tony screech louder, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he rolled around in his crib.

He reached down to scoop the boy up, sighing when he instantly rubbed his face in Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky intercepted Tony’s tiny hand on its way up to his ear, pulling it gently back down. He gritted his teeth when Tony screamed in frustration, smacking at him wildly. Bucky started the now familiar path around the nursery, bouncing Tony gently and humming old rock songs in his ear. He’d given the boy his pain medicine about twenty minutes ago, it should be kicking in any moment now.

Bucky still wasn’t sure what in the hell Tony had, as he wasn’t gnawing on things like he was teething. He was thinking ear infection, which meant he was going to have to get Howard to clear him to take Tony to the doctor, or take him himself tomorrow. Bucky swallowed hard at the reminder of his…well, his boyfriend, he supposed.

Howard had been a bit more affectionate since the incident at the pool a few days previous, touching more frequently, and letting Bucky press him into the wall next to the bedroom door every night, kissing him until they were both aching and breathless, panting into each other’s mouths. They hadn’t gone any further, stopping themselves every time hands started to wander, but Bucky was hanging onto sanity by the skin of his teeth at this point.

Of course, Tony being sick and letting Bucky sleep a whopping four hours in the past 48 wasn’t helping matters any.

As if on cue, the boy let out a little snore, his body going completely lax as he drifted off. Bucky bounced him around for a few more minutes before placing him gingerly in the crib, sighing in relief when he didn’t stir. He grabbed the monitor and practically ran from the room, shutting the door gingerly behind him. Bucky had made it a few feet when his phone went off, groaning as he dug it from his pocket. He’d been trying to avoid his phone as much as possible since the first magazine showed up on the shelves saying proudly that Howard Stark had moved on from the divorce with a mystery man.

News was hard to get overseas but Steve tended to have a knack for finding things out that Bucky didn’t want him to know.

He thumbed the screen open and sighed at the text from Howard. One bullet dodged at least.

_Tony feeling any better?_

_Not really, I’m thinking if he’s not better by tomorrow morning we might want to take him to the doctor._

_That’s fine darling, whatever you think is best. What’s he doing now?_

Bucky bit his lip at the endearment, feeling a flush hit his cheeks as he slung himself across his bed, propping the monitor beside him. Howard had a tendency to call him silly little names, no doubt reminiscent of his times as the ‘Alpha’ male of the relationship. In a way it amused Bucky that he could have the man rutting against him and gasping how badly he wanted to get fucked into his shoulder, but he’d still call Bucky ‘sweetheart’ and ‘darling’.

_Sleeping for the moment, his medicine kicked in. He was exhausted, I’m hoping he stays down for a little while._

_Yeah, he needs it. So do you._

_I’m fine, I’ve gone on less sleep._

_Yeah, yeah, strong soldier man. I’m taking lunch, can I call?_

Bucky texted back an affirmative and waited, ordering himself to calm the hell down as his pulse raced. Even in the short time since they’d made their relationship official and public, Howard had changed completely. Texting him more often, the touches and kisses, and calling Bucky if they ever had free moments that coincided. Bucky loved it as a boyfriend but also as Tony’s nanny, since Howard put in more effort to spend time with them.

The phone blared in his hand, Howard’s grinning face popping up on the display as Bucky answered the call and pressed it to his ear.

“Bucky Barnes’ sex hotline. If you’re a hottie, I’m naughty. How can I help you?”

A groan sounded down the line and Bucky bit back a laugh when he heard Howard slam the door behind him.

“Not funny, Bucky. Walking around with an erection at work tends to lead to ugly situations.”

“Aw, I got you hard from just that? Easy, aren’t you?”

“Shut up. You’re not funny Barnes.”

“But I’m adorable.”

Howard blew out a breath into the phone and chuckled, the sounds in the background telling Bucky he was setting out his lunch. Knowing Howard it was something from the bistro across the street from his office. The thought made Bucky pause and grit his teeth. He and Steve had been best friends for years and lovers for a good part of those and he still couldn’t tell you how the guy even took his coffee.

But he could probably tell you exactly how Howard Stark took his coffee, liked his steak cooked, and what kind of salad dressing he preferred.

Black with a spoonful of sugar, medium rare, and Italian dressing on everything but chicken salad, at which point he generally wanted Ranch.

_Motherfucker._

“Yes, yes you are. How’s today been?”

“Hell, to be honest. I feel so bad for the poor guy, I think he’s got an ear infection. Keeps tugging at them and when I took a look inside, they’re pretty red. Could be exposure to chlorine in the pool, but I’m doubting it.”

“See? I told you a public pool was a bad idea.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and flipped over onto his back, scratching idly at his stomach.

“Him not ever getting sick is a bad idea. Leads to shit immune systems and hospitalization from a common cold.”

Howard made a small noise in his ear, the kind Bucky had come to associate with ‘I know you’re right, but I’m Howard Stark and I’ll never admit it out loud.’ Bucky decided to take pity on him and change the subject, rolling his shoulder idly.

“Speaking of the pool, any heat from the kiss?”

“The usual insinuations and whatnot. Maria saw it, she’s…unhappy is not the correct word.  She screamed at me for about five minutes before I cut the connection.”

“Why the hell does she care?”

“Who knows, Buck. Couldn’t tell you, to be honest. But my lawyer says I should take heed. Some judges, while they’re supposed to be impartial, could look at me being in a homosexual relationship as something unhealthy in the environment and come down on Maria’s side.”

“That’s fucking stupid.” Bucky burst out, coming upright on the bed with a snarl.

He’d gotten enough hell his whole damn life for being gay, it was bullshit Howard could potentially lose his kid because of it. A sudden sense of dread filled Bucky and he collapsed back down, closing his eyes against the implications.

“Howard, if being with me, even having me as your nanny, in any way increases your chances of losing Tony then I—“

“No. Shut up. Shut your mouth and stop right there, Bucky. I am finally happy in a relationship, and we haven’t even gotten horizontal yet. I’m not jeopardizing that on the off chance we could get a bigoted judge.”

Bucky huffed out a laugh, amazed at how the idea of leaving had filled him with dread. Not just leaving Howard, but leaving Tony, his little chunky monkey. The boy had been amazing for him, making his transition back into civilian life a hell of a lot easier, and getting Bucky comfortable enough with his injury to the point where he could look over his body in the mirror after he’d gotten out of the shower. Before, the idea of looking past his throat made him wince and want to tear the damn mirrors off the wall.

The first time he’d seen his injury in rehab, he’d done just that.

“Alright, alright. No need to bite my damn head off. Just putting it out there. I don’t want you to lose Tony.”

“I won’t. I’m sure of it. Keep talking like an idiot and your head isn’t the only thing I’m going to bite.”

Bucky licked his lips at the purr in Howard’s voice, eyeing the quiet monitor for a moment before responding. His body was wound tight as it was, every emotion amplified by his lack of rest, and Howard’s low tone was stirring something low in his gut.

“Yeah? Careful, I might just bite back.”

Howard’s breath caught like he wasn’t expecting that as a response and he coughed in an attempt to cover it, Bucky grinning at his fumbling before the man quietly responded.

“Would you? And what, exactly, would you bite?”

Bucky actually tugged the phone away from his ear to give it a surprised look. Howard Stark, mister prim and proper, was trying to get him to talk dirty. At his office? During lunch?

Well, far be it from Bucky Barnes to disappoint in that department.

“Couple of things. A lot, actually. I’m pretty damn possessive, like to mark up what’s mine. Start at your throat, bite lightly of course. Can’t have the biggest arms dealer in the world going into work looking like a teenager.”

“Then what?”

Howard sounded like he was struggling to talk, like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to form words or moans and Bucky situated himself against the pillows, easing a hand slowly down his front.

“After I get lower, nobody sees that. So I’d bite a little harder. Just enough to leave nice little marks. Bite into your shoulders, arms, work my way down your chest. Nipples are fun. Are yours sensitive, Howard?”

Bucky could hear Howard fumbling on the other end, no doubt making sure everything was locked up and nobody could hear him before he responded.

“I…uhm….yeah. Yeah, they were.”

“Were? What happened?”

“Nobody’s…nobody’s really touched them since college.”

Bucky’s mouth fell open in shock. Howard graduated young, not even legal to drink, and he was almost 45. That meant…about twenty odd years of missing out.

“Fuck, Howie, that’s not okay. I’ll fix that, don’t you worry. Gonna suck and lick and bite ‘em until you’re just this writhing, moaning little mess on my sheets.”

Howard made a soft noise, a breathy, sharp inhale that had Bucky groaning in response, his cock hardening behind his zipper.

“Yeah, yeah, please. W-What else?”

“Gonna work my way down then, bite marks into your sides, suck bruises into your hipbones. By the time I even get to your cock, you’re gonna be ready to blow.”

Instead of a verbal response, Howard choked out a little moan, Bucky cupping himself through his jeans as his cock jerked.

“Bet you look fucking gorgeous when you cum, Howard. Like a wet dream come to life. Wanna see you do it, put bite marks into your thighs, make you cum all over yourself. Think you could cum on my cock? Cum completely untouched just from the feeling of me fucking you?”

“Jesus Christ, Bucky, I’m about to cum already.”

Bucky laughed at Howard’s strained tone, pressing down hard on his cock and letting out a little moan of his own at the delicious feeling that shot up his spine.

“You really _are_ easy, aren’t you?”

“For you, yes. God, yeah, I am. What are you—where’s your hand right now?”

“Where do you think my hand is right now?”

Howard made a wounded noise, like he’d been hit, and panted into the phone.

“James, I shouldn’t be…you know I’ve never done this? Never even thought about it?”

“What’s that? Phone sex?”

“No. Well, not that either. But this, at work. Never had the urge.”

“But you want to with me.” Bucky grinned and eased his hand away from his cock, despite his subconscious screaming at him for the actions.

No fair or fun if only one partner got off. Besides, with Tony sleeping the erratic way he was, Bucky had no intentions of trying to jerk off only to see how fast he got soft when he heard the kid cry.

“So badly. It’s ridiculous what you do to me, Bucky. You get into my head and wrap around my thoughts. I wonder about you as often as I do Tony.”

The praise had Bucky flushing and grinning, scrubbing a hand through his hair self-consciously though he knew no one could see him.

“Well, thank you for that. I think of you a lot too. Can’t wait for you to get home.”

As if on cue at the words, Tony let out a screech and started rolling around in his crib, Bucky wincing as he jumped off the bed.

“Wow, I can hear that from here. Keep me updated, sweetheart, and give him a few kisses for me.”

Bucky agreed and hopped off the phone, sprinting into Tony’s room to scoop up the now sobbing baby, pressing kisses to his head. They spent the rest of the day constantly walking around the mansion, every so often popping into the kitchen to grab something from Jarvis to eat. By the time Howard got home Bucky was swaying on his feet, everything from his waist down aching from constant movement and his arm throbbing from carrying Tony. But seeing Howard so happy, the grin that stretched across his face when he shrugged off his jacket and handed his briefcase over, made it all worth it. The grin faded quickly when he caught sight of Bucky and he rushed over to take Tony from him, Bucky hissing low at the sharp pain when he reached out to hand the boy over.

“You look like death warmed over, darling. Why don’t you go lay down?”

Bucky shook his head and rolled his shoulder gingerly, smiling at Tony who had settled a bit, rubbing Howard’s tie against his face.

“I’m alright. Besides, this is my job. If I’m not tired at the end of the day, I’m not doing it well.”

Howard frowned but didn’t say anything more on it, instead telling Bucky to follow him as he made his way to his room. Bucky followed along obediently, babbling to Tony as he went, smiling sadly at the boy’s low whines of his name.

“He’s so damn tired. Just can’t give in for very long.”

“When was his last dose of medicine?” Howard asked, setting him down on the bed and waiting until Bucky lay next to him before striding over towards the dresser.

“About half an hour ago, should kick in any moment now.” Bucky answered, settling a hand atop Tony’s belly and stretching the other one straight up, resting his head on it and wincing at the pull.

“I made him a doctor’s appointment for noon tomorrow and made you one of his medical proxy’s for the office. It’ll allow you to make any small decisions for him.”

Bucky nodded and watched with heavy lidded eyes as Howard stripped to the waist, muscles in his back flexing and moving while he traded in his dress shirt for a polo. He made his way back over to the bed and lay down on the other side of Tony, copying Bucky’s position and linking their fingers together atop the boy’s chubby belly. Howard made a soft noise of surprise that had Bucky tearing his eyes away from his face to laugh quietly. Tony was sound asleep between them, hands resting up by his head, his whole body a study in exhaustion.

“You wore him out.” Howard remarked, his voice a low hush between them.

“No,” Bucky countered, pressing a gentle kiss to Tony’s forehead that didn’t even make the boy flinch, Tony simply letting out a soft snore. “He was waiting for Daddy to come home.”

Howard blew out an amused breath, smiling softly at him. A contemplative look crossed his face before he scooted a little bit closer, Bucky biting back a yawn.

“You’re not the nanny when he’s asleep, right?”

Bucky frowned but nodded, moving closer as well.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

Bucky let out a soft sigh, nodding sharply and letting Howard pull him into a soft kiss over Tony’s head. He sighed into the other man’s mouth, struggling to keep his eyes open even as they drew back. Howard smiled at him and leaned in one more time to press a soft kiss to his lips before drawing back.

“How’s a nap sound, darling?”

Bucky sighed and nodded, letting his head fall back down and squeezing Howard’s fingers, smiling at the squeeze back.

“Sounds perfect. Everything is…perfect.”

And, as Bucky drifted off, Howard’s hand tangled with his and Tony’s warm body captured between theirs, he realized, for the first time in a long time, everything truly was.

 


	8. The Truth Will Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Howard take Tony to the doctor, confront yet another roadblock, the truth comes out, and the relationship dynamic is shifted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **********WARNING***********: This chapter contains talk of past suicidal thoughts and a past suicide attempt. Consider this and the subsequent tags a warning. Please do not read if this is a trigger.
> 
> Also, in no way does this author claim to know a thing about Child Protective Services and the subsequent laws and procedures. Nothing in this story is to be taken as fact, and created for the purpose of advancing the storyline. Regardless of the, most likely, massive incorrectness, I hope you enjoy!

Doctor’s offices are largely the same. Yeah, kids tend to have nice crap on the walls and are a little less sterile looking, but overall it’s still the same environment. You don’t want to be there. You rarely feel good when you’re there. And someone is going to be poking and prodding at you, sometimes painfully, to find out why you’re not being the way you should.

Bucky fucking hates them.

But he loves Tony, which would be why his ass is planted in an uncomfortable chair, smashed between two other stressed out women holding screaming infants, watching Howard sign them in.

Bucky hushed Tony when the boy started to become agitated from the noise, cradling him close and sighing when his hand instantly came up to tug at his ears. He pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, wincing at the heat radiating from him, and looked up when Howard came to stand in front of them.

“They said it’ll only be a few moments.”

Bucky nodded, Howard settling in a chair across from them, looking uncomfortable about the amount of people within the room. He could sympathize but firmly reminded himself this was something Howard needed to do. Howard needed to get used to mundane, plebian shit like doctor’s offices and public swimming pools.

Though, after this, Bucky thinks the public pool part is not going to happen again.

They waited in silence, Howard thumbing through his phone as Bucky bounced and played with Tony, managing to get a few smiles out of the sick boy. He could feel the eyes of the other people on them, especially on his gloved hand, but shrugged it off.

In the time since they’d gone public, he’d gotten used to people staring more then they usually did. It didn’t much both him anymore, though he was agitated that Tony seemed to feel the stares and became upset because of them.

Like right now, when the small boy was growling at some lady who was staring at Bucky like he had war paint and a loincloth on.

Luckily, a blonde nurse popped her head into the room and called out ‘Stark?’, both Howard and Bucky quickly standing to follow her. She led them back to an examination room, Bucky and Howard taking seats on the plastic chairs as she settled near the examination table.

“So what’s the problem today?”

Bucky looked at Howard but the man merely waved a hand, indicating he should speak. He cleared his throat and met her eyes, grimacing at her overly peppy smile.

“He’s running a slight fever and been tugging at his ears. I think it’s an ear infection.”

“Oh, no. Poor guy.” She said with the same commiserating tone all the nurses had used in rehab when Bucky told them he had more pain that day than the one before. “Anything else going on?”

Bucky shook his head, letting her take Tony’s temperature and jot down a few notes, clicking her tongue as she read the thermometer. She assured them the doctor would be in shortly and left them alone, Tony crawling towards Howard to nuzzle into his chest. Bucky wished he had that luxury; doctor’s still gave him the itch after numerous ones had paraded in and out of his hospital room.

“Thank you for doing this.” Howard said quietly, pulling Tony’s hand down from his ear and handing him his tie, the boy instantly gnawing on it.

“For bringing Tony to the doctor? Pretty sure that’s in the job description.” Bucky said off-hand, though the look Howard gave him and his returning small smile ensured the man he understood his true meaning.

They played with Tony for a few minutes, improvising a game of peek-a-boo with Howard’s tie, before the door swung open, a neatly dressed woman striding in.

“Mister Stark, I’d say good to see you again, but that’s hardly ever the case with doctors.”

She and Howard shared a laugh as they shook hands, Bucky shivering at hearing Howard’s true laugh. It was obvious they were comfortable with one another, and Bucky felt a momentary flash of jealousy before the wedding ring on her hand caught his eye and calmed him.

“Doctor Calligan, but feel free to call me Dr. Calli. I find it’s easier and it adds a sense of familiarity, since Howard told my nurses we’ll be seeing more of you.” She added, offering a hand out to Bucky with a warm smile.

He leapt up to take it, almost sighing aloud when he gaze brushed over his gloved hand with nothing more than clinical interest.

“Yes, I guess you will. James Barnes, Tony’s wrangler.”

“Not yet, though I’m sure the second he starts running you certainly will be.” She laughed, Bucky joining in with a small chuckle as even Tony screeched in delight, reaching out towards her.

She took him from Howard, settling him on the table and moving her chair in front of him, Howard moving to settle back in the chair next to Bucky.

“So I hear we have a possible ear infection? His temp wasn’t great, definitely too high to be teething, so it’s probable. What do you say, Tony?”

There was a moment when Tony seemed to be composing himself, brows furrowed in concentration, before he reached up and patted his ear.

“Ohhhhga!”

Bucky and Howard burst out laughing, Dr. Calli chuckling as well before looking back at Bucky with a wry grin.

“Oh god?”

“My general reaction to his _over_ reactions.” Bucky explained in between gasps for breath, Howard losing it again at his explanation.

She laughed as well, turning back towards Tony and nodding seriously.

“Yes, oh, god. Ear infections are never good. I’m gonna go ahead and look in your ears, alright?”

Tony nodded very seriously, letting her turn his head and only whining slightly when she looked inside them with her light. She pulled back and tossed the cap in the trash, feeling around Tony’s lymph nodes as she addressed Bucky and Howard.

“Oh, he’s got one all right. Looks like it was just getting bad, so you did the right thing in coming when you did. I’ll write up a prescription for an antibiotic. Normally, we wouldn’t, because he’s nine months, but his fever is a little too high for my comfort, so better safe than sorry.”

Howard and Bucky nodded along as she laid Tony down and felt around his stomach, the boy giggling and batting at her hands. She had just sat him up and grabbed her light to check his throat when there was a short knock at the door, Dr. Calli turning with a frown and a calling of ‘come in!’ The nurse from before slunk in, looking stressed and slightly panicked, before leaning down to whisper in the doctor’s ear.

“What?!” Dr. Calli exclaimed, yanking back from the woman as she frowned with a shrug.

The doctor turned to Bucky and Howard, lifting Tony from the table and handing him back to Howard, before grabbing a handful of the antiseptic foam, scrubbing it between her palms as she spoke.

“Please wait here one moment, Mister Stark. I’m terribly sorry but I have another issue to attend to…apparently.”

It was clear she didn’t want to and Howard nodded genially, even as Bucky tried to remember what little he could make out from the whispered conversation. Something about Tony and investigation, words that didn’t belong together and turned Bucky’s stomach. She left, shutting the door with a sharp snap, as Howard turned to Bucky with a frown.

“I wonder what in the world is going on.”

Bucky scowled at the sound of talking in the hall, shrugging his shoulders and staying quiet, even as Tony called out his name until Bucky opened his arms, allowing the boy to crawl into his lap.

They sat for a few moments in silence, Howard finally turning to him once more, opening his mouth with an apprehensive expression on his face.

“Bucky, I’d like to talk to you about something. It’s not for another month or so, so feel free to take time to make your decision, but I was wondering if perhaps—“

“—is the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard of, but why not. Here!”

Howard interrupted by Doctor’s Calli’s sharp tone, rising to his feet just as the door swung open to reveal her standing alongside a police officer and another man in dress clothing.

“Can I help you, gentleman?” Howard asked, Bucky gritting his teeth as they all stepped into the room and shut the door, the amount of people in the room making him uncomfortable.

The man in the professional clothing stepped forward, holding out a hand.

“Hello, Mister Stark. My name is Michael Weller and I’m from Child Protective Services. We received a report of possible abuse and I’m here to investigate that.”

Bucky mouth fell open, clutching Tony tighter to him even as he saw the steel rod fuse itself to Howard’s spine, his voice coming out the perfectly level and calm tone he used when he was trying to contain his temper.

“Pleasure, Mister Weller. Do you always come to doctor’s offices to investigate these things?”

“No, not at all. However, the healthcare oath says that they have a duty to report cases of suspected abuse, which makes it legal for us to question them if any such cases have been documented. It is simply coincidence you and the child are here.”

Howard nodded, letting his hand drop and stepping backwards, eyeing the police officer with a suspicious eye as the man simply leaned against the wall, watching carefully. Bucky’s mind raced even as Howard and the man started chatting, Howard answering general questions about Tony. Who in the hell would report Howard for abuse? Tony was one happy goddamn baby, if his consistent smiles and screeches were anything to go by. And what’s more, Bucky realized as he looked at the police officer, whoever had done it knew about Bucky. Howard wasn’t a weak man, but he was rational and highly unlikely to resist violently.

But Bucky was an army trained soldier, a hot-head who not only _would_ resist, but could do so very violently if he so chose.

Bucky was dragged from his suspicious thoughts when Howard said his name, motioning to him.

“—Barnes is Tony’s nanny and spends far more time with the boy than I do, due to my work schedule of course. He’d probably be better off as far as questions about Tony’s day to day life are concerned.”

Bucky handed Tony over as he man focused on him, Howard holding the boy close as Tony stayed oddly silent, no doubt feeling the tension in the room.

“Mister Barnes, Michael Weller.” He introduced, Bucky returning the handshake before crossing his arms, the man settling against the edge of the examination table.

“So you are in charge of the child’s day to day life and activities?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you receive ample time to witness Mister Stark and the child together?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you believe, in your personal opinion, there is any abuse being committed?”

“No, sir.”

Bucky arched a brow when Howard shot him a look, steadfastly sticking to his military training. Short, impersonal answers tended to work best in these situations.

“Have you ever witnessed suspicious bruises or cuts on the child?”

“No, sir.”

“Has the child ever seemed scared or anxious around a certain person?”

“Yes, sir.”

The man looked up at this, eyes narrowing as his pen stayed poised over the paper.

“And that person would be?”

“His mother, sir. He seems anxious, and occasionally oddly disinterested, in her presence.”

The man’s pupils widened, barely but enough for Bucky to swear in his mind at the slight affirmation of his suspicions, before he nodded and jotted it down on the paper.

“Do you, Mister Barnes, as his primary caretaker, have any history of drugs?”

“Recreationally? No.”

“Was there pharmaceutical use?” The man asked in returned, Bucky gritting his teeth at the question before swallowing and answering, avoiding Howard’s gaze as he did so.

“Within the last year I was in rehab and prescribed medical marijuana as part of a counter-action to my complete lack of appetite and subsequent dangerous weight loss.”

The memories of looking down the length of his body and seeing the sharp thrusts of his hipbones, the lines of his ribs, made Bucky shudder, and thinking about the drug made a sour taste fill his mouth. Before he was in the army he’d tried it, a few of the guys he’d been in the hotel with right before leaving for basic had offered it and Bucky didn’t…care for it. It made his head fuzzy, made him paranoid, but it did work to up his appetite and get him away from the possibility of them shoving a tube down into his stomach to feed him that way.

Bucky refused to meet Howard’s eyes, not sure what he would find in the man’s gaze, instead keeping his eyes on the man’s pad as he jotted down notes before looking back up at him, adjusting the thick rimmed glasses he wore.

“Any history of depression or suicidal thoughts or attempts?”

“Look, is this really necessary? And is it necessary _here_? I’m sure Dr. Calligan would like this room.” Howard broke in, glaring at the man who merely shifted, shaking his head and glancing at the doctor.

“I do need your input, Doctor Calligan, as far as Tony’s health history. However, you’re free to see other patients until I need you.”

“No, it’s fine.” She crossed her arms and leveled a glare at him. “I’ve asked another doctor to cover any subsequent patients until this ends. I’ve been Tony’s doctor since the day he came home from the hospital, I want to be here.”

The man gave her a short nod, turning his attention back to Howard who was still looking at him balefully.

“Mister Barnes is, as you said, the primary caretaker of the child in question. Abuse, as you probably know, is not always committed by family members—“

“Are you accusing Bucky of abusing Tony?!” Howard snapped, taking a step forward.

The policeman behind him stepped forward as well, and Tony whined, burying his face in Howard’s shoulder. Bucky whistled, a short sharp note that had all the heads turning towards him, and shook his head.

“It’s all right, Howard. I don’t mind. He’s got a point. If this investigation isn’t thorough, it could end up that it keeps happening. I’d rather my privacy be incredibly invaded once than gently invaded a handful of times.”

Howard was still seething but he nodded, relaxing back and comforting Tony who had started to fuss at the tension. The social worker turned back towards him, adjusting his glasses and glancing back at the paper.

“Once again, Mister Barnes, have you ever experienced depression or suicidal thoughts or tendencies?”

Bucky swallowed hard and carefully didn’t meet Howard’s gaze, staring straight at Weller instead.

“Yes.”

The man blinked and held his pen over the paper once more, staring back at him.

“Yes to which part of the question, Mister Barnes?”

“Yes to all of the question, sir.”

The man’s hand flew across the page, jotting things down before he looked back up, Bucky wincing at the feeling of Howard boring a hole into the side of his head with his gaze.

“And did you experience suicidal thoughts or attempts?”

“Both. I attempted suicide once, but I thought about it fairly often.”

There was a sharp inhale from Howard that finally had Bucky glancing over, Howard staring at him like he was a stranger. Bucky closed his eyes against the onslaught of emotions in his gaze, turning back towards Weller once more.

“And why did you? Was it because of the depression?”

Bucky gritted his teeth, jerking off his glove and shoving his sleeve up, the man in front recoiling from the sight of his arm even as Dr. Calli let out a soft gasp. The man’s tone, everything about this, was setting Bucky on edge. And now Howard and he were obviously done. He was going to walk out of this room single and unemployed.

Bucky Barnes didn’t give a **_fuck_** anymore.

“It was because of **this**. Be a soldier, Mister Weller. Have your entire life and livelihood revolve around being physically fit, being able to hold a gun. And then have a bomb go off and ruin your entire future in an instant. Do that, look down the barrel at months and months of rehab before you even have a _chance_ at functioning as a normal human being, and at the same time realize you will **never** be one because people do not see a soldier when they see wounds. They see burnt flesh and disgusting scars. They don’t see pain and hurt. Do that for me, and then tell me you wouldn’t try to swallow a handful of sleeping pills. Tell me you wouldn’t think that waking up isn’t worth it. Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn’t think that being dead is better off than being a freak. And all because you did the right thing. Because you tried to _save_ the only family you’d ever had. And now I found another livelihood. I found a thing that I’m good at. I found a kid who thinks this disgusting fucking appendage is a chew toy and not something worth screaming in fear over. And you’re going to sit here and tell me I’m _abusing_ him?”

Bucky finished his rant, panting for breath, as everyone in the room stared at him with wide eyes. Everyone…except for Tony. As was his norm when he saw Bucky’s arm, he was leaning towards him, babbling out his name with a grin on his face. Bucky reached out for him, a soft smile despite the situation for the boy’s innocent acceptance.

Bucky has felt pain. The bomb going off was the most pain he’d ever experienced. He’d gotten his ass kicked, bones broken, skin split by fists and weapons. But Howard stepping back, stepping away from him and taking Tony with him, was possibly the worst pain he’d ever had to go through. It felt like someone had ripped the beating heart out of his chest, and Bucky’s arms fell. His whole body fell, like someone had burned his strings, and Bucky sagged back against the chair. Weller clearing his throat tore Bucky’s gaze away and he looked back at the man, who was pale and keeping his gaze anywhere but Bucky.

“I have no further questions, Mister Barnes. I am…sorry for what you have experienced. Doctor Calligan, if I could speak with you? And Mister Stark, here’s my card. Personally, I see no abuse, but I would like to arrange a meeting to discuss Tony’s living conditions, etcetera.” Bucky watched numbly as Weller handed Howard his card, the billionaire taking it and nodding along with what the man was saying.

Bucky spent the next few moments in a haze, distantly hearing the doc write Howard out a prescription for Tony’s antibiotics and leave with one last long look at Bucky. The pity in her eyes was exactly why he swallowed half the fucking pill bottle for dessert that night. He didn’t want people’s pity, didn’t want them to see him and go “oh, poor baby.”

But, as evidenced, Bucky didn’t always get what he wanted.

They left the room in silence, Tony staring at Bucky and weakly whining out his name, smacking at Howard who kept a firm hand on him. Once they got to the parking lot, Bucky waited until Howard had buckled Tony in and remote started the car, fishing out his cell phone and his own set of car keys from his pocket.

“Here. Whichever works best, whether you need a letter of resignation from me, or firing me is easier, let me know. And I guess if you can find a time when he’s at Maria’s for me to come get my things or maybe just have Jarvis dump them outside the front gate, I’ll—“

Bucky’s next words were cut off when Howard lunged at him, catching the front of his shirt in his fists and smashing their lips together. It was awkward, and hurt a bit when his teeth met flesh, but the sheer relief overrode any confusion or pain and Bucky couldn’t bite back his moan. He shoved the keys and phone back in his pockets before wrapping his hands around Howard’s hips, tugging him close and opening his mouth, Howard’s tongue instantly shoving in to tangle with his own.

It occurred to Bucky, a few moments into Howard pressing close and panting against his mouth, that they were in public, in broad daylight, and this wasn’t the greatest idea, even if they were out about their relationship. But before he could draw away, Howard did it for him, stroking a hand down his ruined arm as he pressed their foreheads together.

“You…You amazing, beautiful, _stupid_ man. Why…Why would I let you go? Why would I **ever** fire a man willing to expose his deepest secret for my child? Bucky—you—argh!” Howard’s exclamation was quickly followed by him pressing their lips together once more, Bucky huffing in amusement even as his body relaxed from the incredibly tenseness that had set in when Howard had stepped away.

Bucky pulled back with a laugh, physically separating their bodies when Howard swayed toward him once more, inclining his head towards the car.

“As much as I want this, Tony’s in the car and we’re in public. We can talk on the way?”

Howard nodded, eyes glazed even as he strode to the passenger side, shaking his head like he was trying to clear it. Bucky couldn’t help but crack a smile, the expression widening when he opened the door to hear Tony was singing along with the toy attached to his car seat, but was substituting ‘Buh’ for every other sound he usually made.

Bucky slid in and started the car, Howard waiting patiently until they were on the road before reaching over to capture his hand, tangling their fingers. He shot the man a small smile, keeping his eyes on the road but inclining his head to open the conversation. Howard played with his fingers for a moment before speaking, voice hesitant.

“I find it suspicious.”

“What, the pool, Maria filing for custody, and now this?”

Howard nodded, shoving his free hand through his hair.

“Am I the only one—“

“Thinking your ex is playing a nasty custody game? No.”

Howard banged his head back against the headrest and Bucky sighed, squeezing his fingers and bringing the man’s gaze back to him.

“Listen, Howard, even if it is, I’m here. Until you fire my ass, I’ll stick by you and Tony, through all this crap.”

“Thank you.” Howard said earnestly, tracing a finger over his knuckles.

He saw the look on Howard’s face change, become more serious, something sad enter his eyes. Bucky braced himself for the topic, drawing in and slowly releasing a great breath of air. It sucked, but they couldn’t sweep it under the rug.

“What you said in there….about the suicide attempt…about everything…I’m so sorry. But Bucky, you’re not a freak. You’re not deformed. You’re a _veteran_. And you are gorgeous in your damage.”

Bucky flushed and laughed awkwardly, not sure how to react to Howard’s praise. He was better in sexual situations, he knew how to handle compliments on his body. Not on his heart.

“Yeah? Well, thanks, Howard. It means a lot, it really does. But it’s not your fault. I got low, it happens. But I’m better now.”

Howard nodded seriously, Bucky driving along for a while before the man spoke up once more, biting his lip and looking at Bucky from the corner of his eyes. It probably wasn’t supposed to look as hot as it did, and Bucky forced the naughty thoughts from his mind, focusing on the road.

“Though I have to say, watching you go all Alpha in there…was very hot. Made me want to find a dark room.”

Okay, or it was completely purposeful.

Bucky grinned over at him, flicking his eyes between the road and the handsome billionaire.

“Yeah? You like that, huh? Like me being all Alpha and commanding. Make you wanna bend over for me, Howard?”

Howard moaned softly, a flush covering his cheeks as he squeezed Bucky’s hand, breathing out a soft “yeah”. Bucky grinned, the moment broken as they pulled through the front gate and Tony started babbling at the familiar surroundings, kicking at his toy and generally creating a ruckus. One question still lingered in his mind and he spoke it aloud as he put the car in park, turning towards Howard.

“Why…in the doctor’s office, why did you back away from me? When I reached out for Tony?”

Instantly, Howard’s face flushed a blood red and he untangled their hands, scrubbing at the back of his neck as he avoided Bucky’s gaze. He mumbled something quietly that had Bucky arching a brow, leaning closer.

“I’m sorry?”

“If I got near enough to hand him off, I was going to hop in your lap right alongside Tony!”

Bucky burst out laughing, Jarvis shooting them both amused looks as he descended the front stairs. Howard growled and started batting at him, Bucky playfully countering every strike before leaning in and pecking a kiss onto the billionaire’s cheek, loving the tiny squeak that escaped Howard’s mouth at the action.

So sometimes he didn’t get what he wanted.

Other times, he got just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N This was NOT actually supposed to be a whole chapter, just a small one shot. So it, obviously, went a bit out of control. But I feel it did a lot in advancing their relationship and don't regret it, as I'm hoping you don't regret reading it :)


	9. Communication is Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Howard Stark forgets to mention important shit, he and Bucky get a little hot and heavy, and Obadiah Stane is an asshole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I was going to wait to post this until I had the full scene down, but I figured it worked well enough on it's own as a transition. Tumblr followers, I am so sorry I misled you! But what you expect will show up next chapter, I swear! 
> 
> Also, if you wish to become one of the people who I disappoint by posting crap too early on my tumblr (or if you have questions for me or any of my Series' characters, you can mind me at momomomma2@tumblr.com :D)

The next month passed without much fuss, Bucky getting more and more used to being around, exponentially more comfortable with the mansion and the luxuries now available to him. Tony’s ear infection had been the last bout of sickness and he’d been an overall happy baby, save for the times when Bucky had to drop him off to Maria for visitation.

 _Maria_.

Good god, that woman had been the bane of their existence the past weeks. She was constantly dropping by unannounced, though that only occurred when Howard was home after she tried it while he was gone and Bucky stood face to face with her for twenty minutes before she stomped off. There had been numerous meetings for Howard with his lawyer and court dates that left Bucky clinging to Tony, scared of what Howard would come back and say. Yet, Tony was still with them and there was no foreseeable reason he’d leave.

They’d gotten no more information on whether or not she was the one who had called Child’s Services, but her surprised, and pissed, look when she saw Tony was still with them and Bucky was still employed told them all they needed to know.

Howard and Bucky’s relationship hadn’t gone any further than the normal heated kisses and one particularly memorable moment where Tony went down for the night and Howard yanked him inside his office to straddle Bucky in his desk chair, writhing against him until they were both breathless and aching, only to be interrupted by a business call. There was a certain softness to Howard’s eyes now when he looked at Bucky, though. Not pity, certainly, but he did seem to spend even more time stroking along his arm, or purposefully holding Bucky’s burnt hand instead of his good one.

Regardless, life had been pretty good as of late. Which meant Bucky was just waiting for everything to come crashing down around his ears.

He was aware this was a pessimistic line of thinking but look at his life and tell him he didn’t have good reason to have that outlook.

“Buh! Buh! Buuuuuuuuh! Up, up, up, up, up!” Bucky grinned down at the baby babbling at him from inside the crib, pushed up onto his knees and generally doing his level best to keep Bucky from getting him dressed after his bath. Tony seemed to learn a new word every day, the brilliance in his bloodline obviously having been passed down, and Bucky, and Howard, couldn’t be happier with it.

He rolled his eyes at the boy’s actions and quickly got him dressed, despite Tony’s rolls and arches, scooping him up to jog downstairs and into the kitchen. Once inside, Bucky stopped at the amount of food Jarvis had laid out and sighed. This much meant a guest for breakfast and Bucky had a damn good idea who that guest would be.

“Mister Stane’s here?” He asked, propping Tony on his hip as he grabbed his bib and hooked it around the boy’s neck, smiling when he instantly grabbed handfuls to shove in his mouth.

“Yes, sir. He and Mister Stark are waiting for you both inside the dining room.”

“One of these days, Jar,” Bucky said, grabbing Tony’s food and spoon from the table. “I’m gonna get Howard to eat in the kitchen like a normal human being.”

Jarvis made a noise of disbelief under his breath, sharing a laugh with Bucky before he pushed his way into the dining room, both men looking up at his arrival.

“Bucky! How’s Tony this morning?” Howard asked brightly, smiling up at him as Bucky gave Obadiah a short nod and crossed to buckle him in.

“Alright, pretty cheery actually. I was thinking maybe we’ll go into town later, pick up a couple new types of food for him to try?”

“Sounds good to—“

“So you’ll be late getting to the club? Or did you not invite them, Howard?” Obadiah cut in, Howard stopping his sentence to frown at him.

Bucky narrowed his eyes as he started feeding Tony his food, the boy hanging onto his sippy cup to take drinks every so often.

“Club?”

Howard looked sheepish and shoved a hand through his hair, clearing his throat.

“Ah, yes. If you recall, I had wanted to talk to you about something before all the…nastiness? The country club is having their annual 4th of July cookout today. They have it a day before so that if people have other plans they can still attend those. I usually go, and I wanted you to come with me. However,” Howard cut a glare at Obadiah then refocused on Bucky, his eyes softening. “If you’re uncomfortable with it, I have no problem giving you the night off and taking Tony myself.”

“I’m sure he’s got no problem!” Obadiah said with a grin, looking over at Bucky in the way a shark would look at a pair of swimmer’s legs. “He’s a soldier, used to being around a lot of people. I’m sure a gathering like that wouldn’t be anything to him!”

Bucky gritted his teeth at the man but nodded sharply, shooting Howard a look that they could talk about it later as he continued to feed Tony. Howard opened his mouth to say something to him but was interrupted by Jarvis coming in with the food. Honestly, Bucky could have kissed the old man for breaking the tension and taking the focus off him. Obadiah always gave him the creeps, something about the man lighting up every instinct Bucky had to fight. He seemed way too interested in Howard’s life, and took pleasure in making Bucky feel uncomfortable.

In a way, it might be nice to send him a big old ‘fuck you’ and tell Howard he didn’t want to go. But….

“Will they be doing fireworks?”

Howard lit up and nodded, swallowing his mouthful before answering.

“Oh, yes. It’s an amazing display. Ah…but,” Howard looked suddenly concerned, lowering his coffee cup back to the table and locking eyes with him. “Darling, it won’t cause you any flashbacks or discomfort, right?”

Bucky winced internally at Obadiah’s evil grin at Howard’s thoughtless endearment, shaking his head as he took a break in feeding to let Tony drink a bit.

“No, nothing like that. My main concern was Tony. Has he ever been around them before?”

“No, come to think of it, he hasn’t.” Howard flinched and gave him a pleading look. “With that thought in mind, please come. Tony settles better for you and I don’t want him to become scared and scream until I can get him home to you.”

Bucky laughed despite himself at the praise, flushing and nodding his agreement as they all went back to their breakfasts. After a few moments, Obadiah spoke up, inclining his head towards Bucky.

“Not that I mean to nitpick, of course, but how are you going to introduce him, Howard? The club members will have seen the magazines, and it will seem odd if you introduce him as the nanny.”

Howard bit his lip and shot Obadiah a glare before looking at Bucky.

“Would you mind? I would, of course, still pay you for the night but—“

“S’alright.” Bucky interrupted, resigning himself to having a chat with Howard about paying him for being his fucking _boyfriend_. “How about I technically have the night off? I’ll go as your boyfriend who Tony loves and who chases after him.”

Howard seemed relieved and agreed easily, Bucky quickly finishing Tony’s feeding and excusing himself. He strode back towards his bedroom, bouncing Tony who was drifting off with his full belly, pulling at his shirt and hair lazily. If he was going to some big club far away from home, he needed to double and triple check his things, making certain he had everything Tony would want or need.

Luckily, the army prepared him well for going through his things over and over to ensure he wasn’t out in the middle of the desert and didn’t have any water.

He had just set Tony down on the bed, letting him play with his other glove, when his computer rang out an incoming call. Bucky sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, scooping Tony up to sit in his seat. He hesitated for a second before answering Steve’s call. Bucky would be lucky if Steve was only calling because his birthday was tomorrow. By now, if he hadn’t seen the magazines, he was being willfully blind.

“Hey, Steve.”

His best friend’s face blinked into life on the screen, Tony cooing at him and waving his hands towards the computer. Steve gave him a small smile and waved as Bucky frowned. The connection was almost crystal clear this time around, and Steve looked like he was sitting in a modern bedroom instead of the barracks.

“Hey there, little man. Bucky, how’s everything going?”

Oh, so they were going to work into it.

Awesome.

“Pretty darn good, actually. Happy Birthday, by the way.”

“Thanks, man. Wish I could be there with you to celebrate it.”

Bucky winced at the tone but nodded. He agreed, in all reality. Steve was still his best friend, and he couldn’t forget that just because they’d rolled around in the sheets a few dozen times before it ended badly.

“Me too. We’ll have to do a late celebration when you come to visit.”

“Uh, about that…” Steve looked sheepish suddenly, glancing over his shoulder and leaning a little closer to the screen.

Bucky’s heart raced and he instinctively copied the position, Tony growling and smacking at him when he got squished.

“What. Steve, what the hell is going on?”

“Nothing bad!” Steve held up his hands as Tony snagged Bucky’s hand, gnawing on it and frowning up at Bucky when he met leather instead of skin. Bucky tugged the glove off and gave him back his hand, refocusing on the man in the screen.

“Then what is it?”

“I…uh…I met someone. And we’re together. And we’re…taking leave together next month.”

Bucky was instantly torn between happiness for his friend and sadness that he would miss more time with him. He pasted on a grin that he knew Steve saw right through, opening his mouth when he was interrupted by Steve’s exclamation.

“I’m still coming there to see you! I just…was hoping maybe I could bring him with me?”

The words cut Bucky hard, leaving him blinking dumbly at the screen.

“Him? It’s…a guy?”

“Uh, yeah.” Steve flushed once more, biting down on his lip. “He’s a really nice guy, I think you’d like him, Buck.”

Bucky shook off the negative emotions and grinned at his friend. Yeah, it irritated him that Steve had told him they couldn’t be together but turned around and dated someone else, but his friend was happy. And Bucky was incredibly happy with Howard. Their lives could have been very different if they _had_ been together, so Bucky couldn’t be too mad about it all.

“Hey, that’s awesome. You got time to tell me about him?”

“Yeah, actually. I’m at his station. I got transferred into his division, it’s a more secret version of Spec Ops. Better barracks, I’ll tell you that much.” Steve gestured to his surroundings and Bucky laughed, nodding in agreement.

“Sure looks like it. So, transferred? Why?”

“Eh, the details are kinda sketchy, can’t tell you much for the moment, though I’ve heard your name tossed around a few times. Pretty hush-hush. Next time you and Howard are pillow talking, ask him about SHIELD.”

Bucky frowned at the words, making a note to bring it up and grimacing at Steve.

“In my defense, I promised nothing. And he’s great, Steve, he really is. And we don’t do pillow talk, you bastard.”

Tony howled in agreement, smacking at the computer screen as Steve laughed and waved at him.

“You don’t? He’s not the type?”

“We, uh,” Bucky scrubbed a hand over his mouth, flushing slightly. “Haven’t gotten to that yet.”

Steve looked like someone had whacked him in the back of the head, blinking furiously.

“Seriously?! Mister ‘we’ve-got-five-minutes-unbuckle-your-pants’? You haven’t gotten horizontal yet?”

“Shut up!” Bucky snapped, Tony twisting at his harsh tone to pat his face gently, cooing at him like he was attempting to calm him down. The motion made Bucky grin at him and press a kiss to his forehead, jiggling him slightly as the boy screeched happily. “We’re taking it slow and we don’t do anything while I’m on the clock as Tony’s nanny. So shut your face.”

Steve shrugged and braced his forearms on the table, shooting Tony a quick look before refocusing on him.

“Well, at the risk of your mini gladiator screaming at me again, I’ll just say that as long as he makes you happy, I’m alright with it.”

Bucky nodded sharply, pressing a kiss to the top of Tony’s head and grinning at his friend.

“So tell me about your new guy.”

“He’s…he’s pretty awesome, Buck. A bit loud and unorthodox, but one hell of a strong fighter and loyal. His name’s Thor, he’s from Norway, some little town that I can’t pronounce just yet. He’s—“ Steve was cut off by someone calling his name from out a frame, a grin stretching across his face that made Bucky’s chest ache.

The affection, the adoration, in Steve’s gaze was what he always wanted directed at him, but Bucky couldn’t say he wasn’t happy to see it nonetheless. He opened his mouth to make a remark but was interrupted by a noise behind him, Tony twisting to grin widely, Bucky copying the expression when he moved to see Howard standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“Am I interrupting?”

“Just Skyping with Steve.” Bucky grinned, hoisting Tony up higher on his body as Howard crossed to lean down and press a kiss to the boy’s forehead.

“Hello! Friend of Steve!”

A booming call had Tony and Bucky jumping, spinning to see a man practically sitting in Steve’s lap, grinning widely at the screen. He was lost for words at the sight of him, unlike any other soldier he’d ever met. For one, the man had a scruff on his face that Bucky’s commanding officer would have beat the hell out of him for, and he also had shoulder length blonde locks brushing some odd silver and red tac vest. He seemed happy enough though, and Steve was grinning at him, one hand braced off screen, no doubt on the bigger man’s back.

Or ass, depending on how froggy Steve was feeling.

“Hey. Boy…friend of Steve.” Bucky greeted awkwardly, the man laughing loudly before glancing up to where Howard was hovering behind them.

“Stark! How fare thee? The Director would like a word with you, when you have a moment.”

“He’s gonna have to wait, Thor. I’ve got plans tonight. Plans I’d like to discuss with Bucky, if I can steal him away from you both.” Howard said, gently threading his fingers through Bucky’s hair and smiling softly when he tilted his head back.

Bucky grinned widely, the grin disappearing slightly when Tony got irritated at the lack of attention and loudly screeched ‘BUH!’, smacking a hand onto his face. Steve and Thor were laughing uproariously, and even Howard chuckled a bit, taking the boy from his lap and shaking his head at him. Bucky nipped at the boy’s fingers when he reached back out towards him, saying a quick goodbye to Thor as well as shouting an agreement to meet Howard in Tony’s room as the two men exited, leaving Bucky staring at his best friend. Steve was watching some place out of frame, no doubt eyeing Thor as he strode away, and Bucky sighed softly. Steve really did care about this guy, the emotions in his eyes showed that, and he wondered, as he was wont to do, if that was how his gaze seemed when he looked at Howard.

“I guess I have to go.”

Steve turned back at his words, eyes darkening for a split second before he nodded.

“If the big boss wants a word, you go, right?”

Bucky sighed and shoved a hand through his hair, glaring at the screen.

“Shut it, Rogers. I’ll give your man benefit of the doubt if you give mine some.”

Steve rolled his eyes but a smile spread across his face, even as he leaned forward to brace himself against the table.

“Alright, fair enough. So we can both come visit on leave?”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed easily, already thinking of how to request some time off for seeing them. “I’m looking forward to it. Hell, maybe Tony can smack at you in real life instead of through the computer screen.”

The look on Steve’s face had Bucky laughing uproariously, even as they said goodbyes and traded ‘love you’s, the screen going dark once Steve cut the connection. Bucky shoved himself up from the chair, wandering over to Tony’s room, striding in to see Tony laying half-dressed on his changing table, kicking and grinning up at an exasperated Howard. The man looked over at his entrance, hands on his hips, highlighting the pull of the shirt across his chest and shoulders.

“How in the hell do you get him dressed so easily?!”

“I speak his language.” Bucky said, striding over to tug on the edge of the shirt Howard had managed to get around Tony’s neck, grinning at the boy.

“Now listen here, Mister Stark. You’re going to put these clothes on, you’re going to like it, and if you’re good I won’t dunk your head in the toilet, understand?”

Tony screeched and laughed, but allowed Bucky to pull the shirt on, only giving him slight trouble once he saw Bucky’s ungloved hand, reaching out for it.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Bucky asked, shaking Tony’s hand and delighting in his grin.

Howard ran a hand through his hair and bit his lip, crossing his arms across his chest just as Tony let out a massive yawn, rubbing at his eyes with his fists. Bucky and Howard traded soft looks before Howard leaned in to give the boy a soft kiss, Tony’s nose wrinkling at the tickle of Howard’s moustache.

“Meet me in my bedroom? We can discuss it there.” Howard said softly, Bucky nodding and scooping up the boy who was quickly drifting off.

As the billionaire exited the room, Bucky laid Tony down in his crib, smiling softly and running a soft hand over his head when Tony instantly grabbed for his blanket and snuggled close. He certainly got lucky when it came to Tony. The kid went to sleep pretty much instantly, usually without the whining and crying other infants did, and did it without a bottle or a pacifier. Bucky waited a few more moments to ensure Tony had fully drifted off before grabbing the monitor from its charging station and heading out the door.

He made his way to Howard’s room, striding in just in time to see Howard shuck off his shirt, tossing it aside and rifling through his dresser. Bucky shot a quick glance at the monitor that showed Tony was still sleeping peacefully and placed it on the side table, Howard’s words ringing in his head.

_You’re not the nanny if he’s asleep, right?_

Bucky strode up behind Howard and wrapped his arms around the man’s waist, the billionaire jumping before his head feel back with a soft noise when Buck bit gently at the muscles of his throat.

“Hi.”

“Mmmm, hi.” Howard drawled, bracing his hands on the dresser top to grind back into him, pushing his ass into Bucky’s suddenly _very_ interested cock.

“He’s asleep, I’m guessing?”

Bucky murmured his assent, growling when Howard shoved back with a bit more force, grinding just hard enough that it sent shivers down his spine. The man reached up and tangled his fingers in Bucky’s hair, his other hand dropping down to trace random patterns across Bucky’s damaged forearm.

“Then what are you going to do to me…James?”

Bucky gripped his hips harder at the utterance of his name, Howard moaning at the bite and bringing a question that had been lingering in Bucky’s mind since the first time they’d gotten into that hot tub.

“You like pain, Howard? Like a little bite?”

“Y-Yeah. Never figured out why. But I…I like to be hurt.”

Bucky reached up with a grin and fisted his hand in Howard’s black locks, yanking his head back to fully expose his throat and making the man shudder, arching with a loud moan. Hurting his lover’s wasn’t anything he was dying to do, but it would be…nice. To focus on something other than reigning in his hard-earned soldier strength for fear of someone getting pissed at him.

You generally didn’t want to piss someone off while you were naked.

“F- _Fuck_.” Howard gritted out, Bucky releasing his hair when the billionaire turned.

Howard grabbed a hold of his shirt, shoving him backwards until Bucky hit the bed, letting himself fall and chuckling when Howard scrambled to straddle him.

“Want you.” Howard murmured mindlessly, his hands shaking as he tore at Bucky’s pants.

The soldier reached down with a small smile and captured his hands, stilling him and drawing Howard into a soft kiss. Their first time wasn’t going to be when Tony was down for a nap, it was too unpredictable. Bedtime, maybe, but not for a nap.

“I want you too, doll. But not now. Not while we could be interrupted at any second.” Bucky shot him a grin before nudging his jaw a bit higher and biting into the tendons of his throat, reveling in Howard’s shaky sigh. “Wanna take my time with you.”

Howard sagged against him, silently accepting Bucky’s point, even as his hips still futilely rocked in minute thrusts. Bucky slid a hand down and gripped him through the fabric, Howard arching and moaning, his eyes still wild as he stared at him.

“You still gotta shower, right?”

Howard nodded, confusion twisting his mouth before it went slack when Bucky ground his palm down. He leaned in and put his mouth right next to Howard’s ear, the man’s hands coming up to brace on Bucky’s shoulders.

“Then I want you to take your time. Soap up real good, and stroke yourself. Get your cock good and hard, jerk yourself off. And when you cum, I want you to say my name.”

Howard shuddered and whined, dropping his head onto Bucky’s shoulder with shaking against him. Bucky removed his hands, wrapping them around Howard’s hips and pressing a gentle kiss to the curve of his jaw.

“I’ve already said your name.” Howard grumbled into Bucky’s shirt, the man laughing and licking a line onto his throat, speaking into his ear once more.

“Yeah? Weird, I’ve said yours.”

Howard groaned and threw himself off Bucky’s lap, practically sprinting towards the bathroom as Bucky erupted in hysterics at his behavior. The shouted ‘you’re **fired** , Barnes’ overtop the sounds of the shower coming on had Bucky laughing harder, practically rolling off the bed. He caught himself with one hand, looking towards the monitor to check on Tony before he went to go pack when the sight made his heart stop in his chest, all amusement gone.

Obadiah was in Tony’s room, reaching into the crib for some reason. Bucky hadn’t even known the fucker was still here, he usually left not too long after breakfast. Throwing himself off the bed, he took off towards Tony’s room, rounding the corner in time to see Obadiah quickly lean back, looking over at him like _Bucky_ was the one who wasn’t supposed to be here. He straightened and cleared his throat, glaring at the older man even as he moved closer to Tony’s crib.

“Why are you in here, Mister Stane?”

“Am I not allowed? I am the boy’s godfather.” Obadiah whispered back in the same tone Bucky had used, smiling with a tilt that had Bucky’s gritting his teeth.

“I’d prefer he not be woken if we’re going to be out later tonight.” Bucky answered as genially as he could, through clenched teeth.

Stane inclined his head before casting Tony one last look and striding out, Bucky stepping aside to ensure the man didn’t brush his injured arm as he went. Obadiah had a nasty tendency to knock into him ‘accidentally’ or grip that arm or hand a bit too tightly. Bucky wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without punching the man for it, so he tended to stay back as far as he could.

Once the man was gone, Bucky quickly made his way over to Tony’s crib, looking inside with the same detail he used to look over potential hostile’s approaching his sniper nest. The boy was sleeping peacefully but a small teddy bear had been placed in the corner of his crib, something neither Bucky nor Howard had gotten for him. Bucky reached in and snatched it up, considering just tossing the damn thing before what little manner’s the nuns had taught him kicked in. He didn’t need to toss it, just make sure it was clean before Tony got a hold of it. Keeping it away from his body, clenched in his damaged hand, Bucky quickly made his way down to where Jarvis was puttering around the laundry room, folding some things into a basket.

“Hey, Jar?”

“Yes, Buck?” The old man answered with a smile, Bucky rolling his eyes and holding up the toy with a grin.

“Think you can throw this in the wash?”

Jarvis put down the shit he was folding and crossed the room to take the bear, twisting it around in his hands.

“A new toy for the young Anthony?”

“Yeah, Stane just plopped it in his crib without telling me. I prefer toys be washed first.”

“They are all _supposed_ to be washed before being given to children.” Jarvis grouched, twisting to turn on the water in the big, old fashioned double sink off to the side of the room. “I shall hand wash it myself. And I would also make a note to inform Mister Stane this behavior is not appropriate.”

Bucky leaned back against the wall and scratched his head, biting down on his lip.

“I don’t really wanna start shit with my boss’ friend though, Jar.”

“Perhaps, but young Anthony is your responsibility, and as such, you do have a hand in what goes on around him. It is merely a suggestion.” Jarvis countered, tossing the bear into the water and pouring in soap afterwards, reaching for a pair of rubber gloves lying nearby.

Bucky grinned and nodded, making a note to talk to Howard about it, before taking off back towards the billionaire’s room. He paused in the doorway and clenched his jaw at the sight. Obadiah was standing close—too _fucking_ close in Bucky’s opinion—to Howard, who was still dressed in only his towel. The erotic image was buried under the rage that surfaced once he caught the conversation.

“—and I don’t honestly see where it’s any of your business, Obadiah.”

“Howard, I’m thinking of Tony. He’s fine with it now, yes, but think of the mockery. He’ll be under scrutiny already for being your son, and no doubt for being a genius. Having two father’s? It’ll be just another thing for people to slam him for.”

“And you’re suggesting I—what? Break up with Bucky? With the man who prompted him to say his first word?”

Bucky stepped out of range, flattening his back next to the doorway when Howard turned, deciding he wanted to hear what in the hell Obadiah would say. No, eavesdroppers rarely heard good things about themselves, but Bucky was a curious little shit.

“That’s another thing, Howard. You can’t tell me you’re alright with that? He’s becoming more important to Tony than you are. And you’re his father!”

“I’m also not around near as much as Bucky! I’m just glad the boy’s bonding with someone. You remember how cold he was as an infant? I don’t want that anymore.”

“Well neither do I! I’m just saying, Howard, consider your options.”

“Options?! My options are finding a new nanny or getting back together with Maria.”

Bucky bit back a laugh at how Howard said it, the tone of his voice akin to how someone would suggest dining on dirt and slugs. Obadiah’s next words had him fisting his hands, resisting the urge to go stomping in there like an idiot.

“Is it a bad idea? You two had a happy marriage. Maybe this, being with Nanny Barnes, is all just a….phase? Maybe if we took you to church? Medicated you?”

“I dunno about Howard,” Bucky said, swinging into the doorway and glaring at Obadiah. “But the last person that told me liking cock was a phase that I could be medicated out of? Is still missing a few teeth.”

Obadiah flushed and sputtered while Howard shot him a grin, crossing the floor to pull Bucky into a kiss by the front of his shirt, deliberately keeping their mouths separated far enough that they flashed tongue. He finally drew back and glared at Obadiah, crossing his arms across his chest.

“I didn’t know you were such a bigot, Obie. And I thought I knew you. I’d advise you leave my house and consider re-wording yourself before you find yourself out of a friend and a job.”

Obadiah stumbled through an apology before quickly leaving, Howard sighing and turning back to Bucky to rest his head on his shoulder.

“I didn’t know…he was so narrow minded.”

“Hey, maybe it’s just a phase?” Bucky joked, Howard smacking at his shoulder with a scowl before striding over to his dresser.

It burned Bucky to defend the bastard, but he wanted to keep the peace. Obadiah Stane was an asshole, but he was a powerful asshole. And the last thing Bucky needed was for him to exercise that power to make his life a living hell. Dodging reporters was tough enough, and already set him more on edge than he needed to be around Tony. Who in the hell knows what would happen if Obadiah dug into Bucky’s past and pulled shit up that he didn’t want out in the air.

“So you are alright with going tonight, yes?”

Bucky broke from his thoughts and nodded, inwardly cursing when he realized he’d missed Howard dropping the towel and pulling on underwear while lost in his own mind. He crossed to sit on the bed while Howard dressed, watching appreciatively and grinning when the man shot him a mock glare.

“Yes, Howard, I’m fine with it. It might be fun, seeing Tony with fireworks for the first time.”

“It will be…interesting. I’m just glad I won’t be alone. The members can be…”

“Judgmental fucks?” Bucky offered with a grin, Howard frowning but conceding to the description with a tilt of his head before crossing to give him a kiss.

“It can’t be all that bad, right? We’ll be together? It’ll be a nice…bonding experience?”

Bucky rolled his eyes at Howard’s hesitant tone, giving the man a short kiss before nodding.

“I’m sure it’ll all be just fine.”


	10. Bucky Barnes and the Baleful Ex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The country club fireworks turn out just as awful as Bucky imagined they might. But the aftermath? Now that he wasn't complaining about in the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE! I am so sorry this took so long you guys, I knew the sex scene in this one was going to be a lot different because of the tone of the story, but I never imagined it would give me so much trouble. But regardless, I really hope you guys enjoy it and for updates on this story (and ways to yell at me to write more as I procrastinate) come visit me at momomomma2.tumblr.com

“I have never regretted a sentence more in my life.”

Howard shifted nervously next to him at Bucky’s muttered words, shooting him a small, commiserating smile before standing to greet yet another old friend. Bucky bounced Tony in his lap, the boy smacking at the table with his toy before grinning up at him.

“At least you’re having fun, little guy.” Bucky murmured, placing a kiss on his head and narrowly avoiding Tony’s swipe with the toy, leaning to pick up his beer from where he’d set it _far_ away from Tony’s wandering hands.

He looked around, frowning at the amount of people near him. Big ass space, and there were about a hundred people vying for Howard’s attention in particular. It was nice, kinda, to see Howard in his element, joking and chatting with the other people in his social class.

But it also made Bucky fully aware of how he _wasn’t_ in Howard’s social class.

“Nanny Barnes!” Bucky winced and turned at Maria’s voice, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the sight of standing amongst her friends, all of them wearing dresses too extravagant for the occasion and caked in makeup. “So nice to see you dressed appropriately, for once.”

She shot a none-too-subtle glance towards his arm, which Bucky had covered with his glove and a thermal. He shifted Tony and stood to give her a sarcastic grin, throwing in a chuckle as he caught sight of Howard trying to make his way back towards them quickly.

“I’m actually not the nanny tonight, _ma’am_. Just here with my boyfriend and his son.” Bucky bit back a true grin at the fury on Maria’s face when he dropped her title, knowing well enough that to people like her, any assumption of age was as good as a death sentence.

“Well, let me see Tony. The fireworks are about to start and I want to take him to see them.”

Bucky gritted his teeth but dutifully put his beer back down and handed the kid over, smiling a bit at the way he whined and threw his arms out, babbling Bucky’s name. Howard appeared next to them shortly, glaring at Maria and resting a possessive hand on Bucky’s back, rubbing gentle circles into his skin with his thumb.

“Maria.”

“Howard.” She answered coldly, hugging the squirming boy closer to her and turning as the first whistle of a firework sounded.

Bucky kept a close eye on Tony, watching him get more and more agitated by the sounds and the person holding him, clenching his fists in an attempt to stop himself from just snatching the boy away. Tony was practically clawing at Maria’s shoulder, whining his name and looking like sheer terror in a 25 pound package. Bucky tore his eyes away at a presence to his side, Obadiah appearing beside him with a grin that had Bucky shifting into the warmth of Howard’s body.

“Mister Stane.”

Obadiah grinned, something dark in the corners of his mouth, nodding towards where Tony was still struggling against Maria’s hold.

“He’s got quite the attachment. You’re a good mom, Barnes. Ever think of having your own one day?”

The insult made Bucky jerk, Obadiah’s teasing tone not helping matters any, but his attention was ripped away when a louder firework went off, the bang even tensing Howard, prompting Tony to scream out “Buh! Mama!”

Bucky stood shock still, not even daring to breath as Maria tugged Tony away to stare at him, confirming Bucky hadn’t been hearing wrong. But he wasn’t…Tony wasn’t looking at Maria, instead staring straight at Bucky and whining out ‘mama’ in between sobs. Bucky moved into action, stepping away from Howard and Obadiah to come up next to Maria, mindless of the stares from the people around him. Tony brightened a bit at his presence, a small smile crossing his face as he strained for him, kicking out in an attempt to get closer. Maria’s glare could’ve burnt holes in his skin and Bucky didn’t even try to explain that Obadiah had said the fucking word, it wasn’t his fault, instead holding his arms out for the boy.

“Maria, he’s scared. Just let me take him.”

“He is **my** son.” She snapped, but relented when Tony’s scream brought everyone’s heads around, people leaning over to see what was going on.

Bucky brightened when she handed Tony over, the boy grinning wildly and murmuring his name as he cuddled into Bucky’s body. He went to turn back to Howard, Tony settling into his arms and babbling at him, when a touch on his wrist made him go cold. He couldn’t re-act fast enough, not with Tony in his arms, and could only gasp when Maria yanked the glove from his hand in one smooth move.

“Oh goodness!” She gasped, an enjoyment glittering in her eyes even as her mouth fell open in a parody of shock, numerous heads turning in their direction at her loud voice. “Bucky, I am _so_ sorry! Here, have your glove back! It must have gotten caught on something.”

Bucky felt his cheeks flush as everyone’s eyes glued to his hand, the women in Maria’s group grimacing and turning to each other to whisper frantically. He snatched the glove back, tightening his jaw as he tried to slip it on quickly and still hold Tony, a feat that had his damaged skin showing for much longer than he wanted and gave everyone around them ample time to see his flesh and whisper to one another.

There was a cold ball of ice in his stomach, a sour bile covering his throat as he stepped backwards into Howard, the man coming up behind him and resting a hand on his lower back, glaring daggers at Maria and everyone around them. Tony wasn’t helping much, having seen his favorite chew toy and straining for Bucky’s hand, tugging on the glove and whining. Bucky turned away from all the looks, meeting Howard’s eyes and shifting awkwardly, the fireworks unnoticed behind them as the whispers threatened to overwhelm him.

“Can…can I go home, Howard? I just…can I go home?”

Howard looked _enraged_ , his entire body tense and teeth gritted so hard Bucky could see the tic starting in his jaw. He looked almost like he was about to start a screaming match with Maria in the middle of the country club, but was luckily saved by Tony sagging in Bucky’s arms and whining, scrubbing at his eyes.

“Yeah,” Howard murmured softly, running a hand down Bucky’s side and shooting a baleful glare at Maria over his shoulder before meeting his eyes once more. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

********************************

Two hours later found Bucky lying face down in his bed, trying to block out the looks on people’s faces from his memories. Tony had gone down easy, fallen asleep on the way home, yet Bucky couldn’t rest, still feeling a churn in his stomach whenever he thought of the disgust curling the lips of Howard’s friends. He could deal with judgment. He didn’t like it, but he could deal with it.

But knowing that he had probably embarrassed Howard in front of all his high society friends was what had kept Bucky up.

It didn’t help that Howard had disappeared into his office soon after they got home, only offering Bucky a small smile before leaving. He just _knew_ this was going to be what got him fired. And it was stupidly amusing, in a way. He could admit to all his faults, spill them out in a goddamn doctor’s office in front of everyone, and Howard forgave him. But embarrassing a man of his caliber was what was going to get him thrown to the curb.

Bucky groaned and buried his face further into the bedspread, before pushing up and starting towards his dresser, ready to get packing. It would hurt less if he was ready to go when Howard handed him his pink slip, and Bucky believed in cutting ties quickly and as painlessly as possible. Maybe he could find a cheap apartment nearby? There had to be some use for ex-military members, maybe he could work as security for somewhere.

He had just tugged open the first drawer and taken out a handful of clothing when someone clearing their throat behind him had him spinning him place. Howard stood in the doorway, hands shoved into the pockets of his pants, looking at the clothes in Bucky’s hands.

“Going somewhere?”

Bucky shifted and tossed the clothes back into the dresser, folding his arms across his chest and shrugging, setting his jaw for the chat.

“I figured better clean my drawers out now. That way I can be ready to go when you hand me my pink slip.”

Howard’s mouth fell open, his expression shocked before he cursed and slid a hand through his hair, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.

“Bucky, that’s not…why do you keep assuming I’m just going to fire you?”

“I embarrassed you in front of your friends, Howard.” Bucky explained, pain lancing through his chest at the memory of the shocked faces. “That’s more than enough reason in my book.”

“You embarrassed—Bucky, you did nothing wrong!” Howard exclaimed, crossing the room to stand before him, planting his hands on his hips. “ _Maria_ was the one who was an embarrassment, doing something like that when she **knew** you were uncomfortable with it. She was the embarrassment tonight, not you.”

“But everyone saw—“

“Saw what?” Howard interrupted, waving a hand towards Bucky’s arm. “You? A soldier damaged by the war that we started? No, Bucky, no. They saw a child who loves you. They saw a boy cling to you instead of his _mother_.”

Bucky cursed and ran a hand through his own hair, shooting a look of disbelief at Howard.

“Y-You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious! Bucky—“ Howard groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face, biting his lip.

“Look, I’d…I’d really love to kiss you right now, alright? And reassure you, because I know how you think, that I do still want you. That I want you as Tony’s nanny and as my lover. And that I don’t give a good goddamn what any of those people there think because if I never saw over half of them ever again, it’d be the best day of my life.”

Bucky made a choked noise at Howard’s admission, licking his lips and nodding, inhaling sharply when Howard grasped handfuls of his shirt in both hands, pulling himself up and pressing their lips together. He slid his hands around the other man’s waist, opening his mouth for the thrust of Howard’s tongue and moaning at the heat that shot through him at the motion.

Howard echoed the sound, stepping closer until their bodies were pressed together, Howard grinding their hips together. Bucky let his hands slip down, cupping Howard’s waist and hoisting the older man up, caught in the moment. Howard obviously was too, as he easily slid his legs around Bucky’s waist and let him cradle him there. Bucky groaned when Howard bucked against him, grinding their cocks together, and stumbled towards the bed, his shoulder weakening with Howard’s heavy weight.

He wished he was as powerful as he used to be, able to hold Howard up against the wall and fuck him, but the past was the past. Bucky cleared the thoughts from his head, tipping Howard backwards onto the bed and pulling away to look at the man. The billionaire was sprawled there, panting and looking up at him with darkened eyes, his cock tenting the front of his dress pants.

“You look good enough to _eat_.” Bucky growled, coming down over him and nudging Howard’s head higher so he could suck a mark into his throat.

“J-James.” Howard whimpered, grabbing handfuls of Bucky’s shirt and tugging on it roughly, arching up into his body and mouth. “Take this off. Get it off, I want to touch you.”

Bucky hesitated for a moment, but Howard tugged roughly once more, prompting Bucky to swallow hard and whip the shirt off. Hell, Howard had seen him half naked before, had touched his damaged skin. This wasn’t anything new to him. While he did, Howard did the same and Bucky bit his lip at the man’s body. Howard wasn’t built like a soldier, more like a runner, all lithe strength and coiled power.

He fucking loved it.

Howard moaned at the skin bared, immediately plastering his hands to Bucky’s chest and running them all over, trailing fingers down his damaged arm and healthy one, arching up into him. Bucky leaned down, sucking kisses into Howard’s skin, sliding down slowly until he was at his belt. Bucky shot a look up at Howard, the man pushed up onto his forearms to meet his eyes and grinned, licking out over the skin of his stomach.

“Gotta prep you first. Got anything?”

Howard nodded furiously, pushing at Bucky and practically running from the room. Bucky sat back and laughed, shaking his head and looking down at his arm. This thing had given him so much pain, even now. But Howard loved it, it seemed, and so did Tony. Maybe it wasn’t such a curse after all.

He didn’t have too long to ponder over it, since Howard quickly came speeding back into the room, clutching a bottle of lube and handful of condoms that he threw onto the bed. Bucky laughed at his enthusiasm, shaking his head as Howard hopped back onto the bed with a grin, starting to tear at his belt.

“Excited?” Bucky teased, moving the pile of condoms to the side but leaving the lube near him, moving up the bed until he was sprawled between Howard’s now bare legs.

“Yeah,” Howard said hoarsely, trailing fingers over Bucky’s shoulders, the raw truth in his voice bringing Bucky’s head up and sobering him. “I am. It’s been….a very long time since I’ve made love to someone who I actually care about.”

Bucky smiled softly and dropped a kiss on Howard’s hip, sliding over until he could take the tip of the man’s erection in his mouth. He wasn’t so good with emotions and all that, he was better at _showing_ than telling.

And that’s exactly what he planned to do.

While Howard was distracted, arching up into his mouth and sliding fingers through his hair, Bucky coated a few of his fingers in lube, using his damaged hand to brace himself on the bed. He slowly slid his fingers lower, trailing them over Howard’s balls until he could brush against his hole, loving the way Howard moaned at the action.

Bucky swallowed down more of Howard’s cock abruptly, using the distraction to slide one finger inside him. Howard gasped—whether at the penetration or Bucky’s mouth, he wasn’t sure—and planted his feet on the bed, pushing back against his hand.

Howard was pliant and easy, and Bucky grinned around the flesh in his mouth. It was always easier when his lovers were turned on, and Howard was certainly _very_ easy for him. By the time Howard was gasping and shoving at his shoulders to avoid coming too soon, Bucky had three fingers inside him, twisting them inside him to loosen the man further.

“Just fuck—fuck me.” Howard groaned, tugging at Bucky’s hair as he laughed and rose up onto his knees.

Bucky quickly stripped his clothes off, climbing back onto the bed to snatch a condom from the pile and slip it on. He pushed Howard’s legs up and apart, scooting in closer until he could grip the base of his cock and guide it to Howard’s hole, licking his lips.

“Ready?”

Howard nodded shakily, pulling his thighs wider and wriggling in place, a grin stretching his features despite the apprehension in his eyes. Bucky pressed in slowly, hissing at the tight heat he could feel despite the condom, pausing to let Howard take deep breaths and relax. It was obvious the man hadn’t done anything like this in a while, given the tense state of his shoulders and his sharp inhale every time Bucky pressed deeper.

By the time Bucky’s hips met Howard’s ass, the man was panting and writhing, like he was torn between shoving towards Bucky and pulling away from him. Bucky took the choice away by coming down over him, keeping his hips as stable as he could as he braced his forearms next to Howard’s head, pressing their lips together gently. The distraction worked, Howard exhaling softly before letting go of his legs to wrap his arms around Bucky’s shoulders, turning their gentle kiss into a fierce battle that had Bucky slowly grinding his hips, relishing in Howard’s moans and whines.

He pulled away to breathe, grinning down at Howard’s flushed face as he ground his hips, Howard huffing up at him.

“I’m not going to break, James. Just fuck me already.”

“Aw, but you’re so _tight_.” Bucky teased, pulling out just a bit to shove forwards, Howard yelping under him. “I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“I’m not as fragile as you think.” Howard snapped, gripping onto Bucky’s shoulders and bucking up into him, both of them letting out low groans at the feeling.

Bucky pushed himself backwards, pulling at Howard’s legs until they were up around his hips and bracing himself on the back of the man’s thighs.

“Alright, fair enough. You ready?”

Howard nodded, but still gasped and arched when Bucky pulled back and drove forward in a true thrust, snapping their hips together. Bucky waited only a moment, long enough for Howard to give him an annoyed look, before starting to thrust in earnest. The man under him writhed and arched, gripping at the bedsheets, his hair, anything within reach.

“God, god, **fuck**. You feel s-so good, James.”

Bucky grinned at the moaned words, putting a little more force behind his thrusts as Howard became more frantic, pushing back against him greedily.

“Not too bad yourself, Howard. Gonna let me do this all the time? Let me wreck you and leave you satisfied?”

Howard nodded furiously, hands firmly twisted in the bedsheets, breath coming quicker and quicker as he started to become more erratic in his movements.

“Y-Yes! Yes, everyday, every time you can. Please, Bucky, I need to—“

“Touch yourself for me,” Bucky ground out, the idea of Howard coming right in front of his eyes pushing him closer to the edge. “Do it, Howard. Let me see you cum.”

Howard obediently slipped a hand down, fisting his cock and jerking it roughly. It took mere minutes before he cried out Bucky’s name, tightening around his cock as he painted his stomach with thick lines of cum. Bucky swore low and sped up his movements, wanting to be done before Howard got too sensitive.

Sure enough, within moments of watching Howard gasp and whimper with every thrust, Bucky was bending down over him, thrusting hard as his vision darkened, gasping out Howard’s name. Once it had cleared, Bucky let the man’s legs fall to the bed, gripping the base of his cock to pull out.

He quickly disposed of the condom, after checking for blood, and crawled back onto the bed, where Howard lay. The man’s body was a boneless sprawl of satisfaction and Bucky grinned at the sight, settling next to him to allow Howard to cuddle close, noting that sometime in the short period while he’d taken care of the condom, Howard had cleaned the cum from his chest.

His lover was quiet for a long while, just running gentle fingers up and down his arm, and over his chest. Bucky opened his mouth to ask him what was wrong, but was cut off by Howard sighing and nuzzling deeper into his chest.

“You’re amazing. Promise me you won’t leave.”

“Not going anywhere. Promise.”

Howard grinned at Bucky’s words, looking up at him and resting his chin on Bucky’s pec.

“Because I’m an amazing boyfriend?”

“Nope.” Bucky answered, ruffling Howard’s hair and grinning himself at the man’s perturbed expression as he batted his hand away.

“Because Tony is a sweet, if precocious, child?”

“Nope.”

“Because I pay you more than any other nanny in this state makes?”

“Nope.”

Howard huffed out an irritated breath, pushing up onto his hands to see Bucky more clearly and growl out, “well, why then?!”

Bucky drew him in for a slow kiss, cupping his face and reveling in the feeling of being naked and safe with someone he cared for. They separated slowly, Howard pressing their foreheads together and looking at him expectedly. Bucky grinned and shrugged slowly, choosing his words carefully.

“Because Jarvis makes amazing food. I swear, I’ve never had anything so del—hey!” Bucky yelped when Howard smacked hands on his chest, pushing away from him and rolling his eyes.

He laughed as he tugged the man back into his arms, pressing a kiss to his pout and brushing gentle fingers over Howard’s creased brow.

“I’m kidding. I’m staying for you. And for Tony. And for the life I have.”

Howard smiled sleepily, leaning up to kiss him once more before settling down onto his chest, Bucky shooting a glance at the monitor to ensure Tony was still sleeping peacefully before letting his own eyes drift shut.

Yeah, tonight had been a nightmare and he wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to react the next time he saw Maria.

But given how it had ended, Bucky was thinking a bouquet of flowers and a cake with ‘Thanks for helping me get laid!’ scrawled on it.


End file.
